18-month-old girl, who went missing, found buried atop a hill in Visakhapatnam

The Visakhapatnam Police recovered the body of an eighteen-month-old girl on Wednesday, a week after she and her mother were reported missing. The toddler’s body was recovered from Katamayya Hill where she was allegedly buried by her mother after dying of starvation. However, the child’s mother, identified as Kusumalatha, wasn’t able to direct the police to the exact burial site when they began the search operation on Monday.

On 6 February, Kusumalatha and her daughter went missing from their home in Pendurthi after a family dispute. Kusumalatha’s husband – an employee of the Indian Railways lodged a complaint at Pendurthi Police Station the next day.

The police then found Kusumalatha in an ailing condition at Chinamushidiwada on 10 February. They were alerted by the residents of Chinamushidiwada, who offered her food and first-aid, before contacting the police.

In a police investigation after she was found, Kusumalatha confessed that she and her daughter had been living in the forest area for the last four days, after storming out of their home in Pendurthi. She claimed that her daughter died due to starvation on February 9. The mother then allegedly proceeded to bury the young girl in the hilly area in Visakhapatnam.

The police however, continue to doubt the authenticity of Kusumalatha’s story. The recovered body of the girl has been sent to K.G. Hospital in Visakhapatnam for an autopsy to confirm Kusumalatha’s statement. Meanwhile, a case has been registered under Section 174 of the CrPC (suspicious death).