Body of 3-year-old exhumed after mother’s complaint of ‘foul play’

The body of a three-year-old boy was exhumed on Thursday by the Navalgund taluk police after his mother filed a complaint accusing their neighbour of “foul play”

The body of a three-year-old boy was exhumed on Thursday by the Navalgund taluk police after his mother filed a complaint accusing their neighbour of “foul play”, police said.

On November 11, the deceased’s mother filed a complaint wherein she accused her neighbour, Nagalinga Jogi, behind the boy’s death (File photo)

Sub-inspector Bhatralli said that the boy, Yellappa, a resident of Yamanur village, died on November 8 “in suspicious circumstances”.

On November 11, his mother filed a complaint wherein she accused her neighbour, Nagalinga Jogi, behind the boy’s death.

In the complaint, Shantha said that her son’s death was not accidental and accused Jogi of having longstanding grievances against her family, fuelling her suspicions about his involvement.

“Nagalinga has held a grudge against us for decades,” she said, describing the explanation of an accidental fall as dubious.

He said: “Nagalinga had handed over the Yellappa’s body to Shantha on November 8, stating that a sowing equipment had fallen on him around 4 pm. The family proceeded with cremation rituals without notifying authorities.”

“On the basis of her complaint, we obtained permission from the sub-divisional magistrate to exhume the body for investigation. Dr Santosh Kumar from KIMS conducted the autopsy,” he said.

The exhumation was carried out at 7 am on Thursday, with Navalagund tehsildar Sudhir Sahukar and sub-inspector Janardhana Bhatralli overseeing the proceedings.

Bhatralli further said that a case of unnatural death was registered on November 11 on the basis of the complaint filed by Shantha.