TV
In a chilling turn of events, a human skeleton and skull were recovered from the dense Gasmā forest under Chakapad police limits in Kandhamal district, Odisha. The skeletal remains are suspected to be of a missing minor girl from Bhalugada village under Bhanjanagar police station in neighbouring Ganjam district.
According to police sources, the discovery was made on Sunday when locals spotted skeletal remains scattered in the forest and alerted the Chakapad police. Upon reaching the spot, police recovered a partially decomposed skeleton and a skull along with some pieces of women’s clothing. The remains were carefully collected and sent to MKCG Medical College and Hospital in Brahmapur for forensic examination, including autopsy and DNA testing.
Following the recovery, police contacted the nearby districts for any matching reports of missing persons. During this process, it was revealed that a teenage girl had gone missing several days ago from Bhalugada village in Ganjam district.
Her father, Jagannath Mallick, who works outside the district, returned home on Saturday, only to find that his daughter was not at home. Upon inquiry, family members informed him that she had left the house a few days earlier and had not returned.
Realising the seriousness of the situation, Jagannath immediately lodged a missing complaint at Bhanjanagar Police Station. The next day, news of the skeletal remains being found in Kandhamal reached the family.
Jagannath was called in by police and taken to the spot, where he identified the clothing found near the remains as that of his missing daughter. While the final confirmation is pending (through DNA test), the father is convinced that the remains belong to his child.
“My daughter was around 15 years old. After returning home, I found that my daughter was missing. I had lodged a complaint. My daughter has been killed,” said the grieving father.
The incident has raised strong suspicions of murder, prompting the police to expedite the investigation. Preliminary evidence suggests that the girl might have been killed and her body dumped in the remote forest area, although the exact cause and time of death will only be known once the post-mortem and forensic reports are available.
Bhanjanagar Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Sujit Nayak confirmed that the investigation is being taken seriously, and teams have been formed to probe all possible angles, including abduction and planned murder.
“Once the autopsy report is available, we will have more clarity on the nature of the crime. All efforts are being made to bring the perpetrators to justice,” the SDPO stated.
The incident has sent a wave of shock and grief across both Kandhamal and Ganjam districts. The Kandhamal district police are also coordinating with their Ganjam counterparts to track any suspicious individuals, examine call records, and gather other necessary evidence, including witness accounts that may shed light on the girl’s last movements.
