Tragic Murder of 10-Year-Old Girl During Mysuru Dasara Festival: Suspect Apprehended

Police believe the young girl was sexually assaulted prior to being killed. (Representational)

Mysuru:

Early Thursday morning, authorities discovered the body of a 10-year-old girl near Dodda Kere Maidan in proximity to Mysuru Palace. Investigators suspect the child was sexually assaulted before being murdered.

The victim belonged to a family from the Hakki Pikki community who had traveled from Kalaburagi to Mysuru with approximately 50 other community members to sell balloons and toys during the Dasara festival. The group had established temporary camps near the Palace grounds and were conducting business at various locations including Chamundi Hill, the Exhibition Grounds, Bannimantap, and Devaraja Market.

On Wednesday, the families returned to their makeshift tents around midnight after concluding their work. At approximately 4 am, the girl's relatives awoke due to rainfall and noticed her absence. They promptly filed a missing person report at Nazarbad Police Station. A subsequent search operation led to the discovery of the child's partially clothed remains in a pit near their temporary shelters around 6:30 am.

The family of the deceased alleged that she had been sexually assaulted and killed.

Mysuru Police initiated an extensive search for the suspect, resulting in the arrest of Karthik from Kollegal. During the arrest, he reportedly attempted to escape, prompting officers to shoot him in the leg before taking him into custody.

The victim's body has been transported for post-mortem examination as investigations continue into this tragic incident.