Kundapur: A 17-year-old girl was found dead under mysterious circumstances at Ottinene near Byndoor on the evening of Wednesday June 17.
The deceased was identified as Akshata Devadiga (17), the daughter of Babu and Radha Devadiga, residents of Henaberu.
Reportedly, Akshata regularly walked home form college, during which she usually passed through an isolated acacia plantation. On the day of the incident, Akshata had left from college at 4.30 PM, but did not reach home.
As it started getting late, her worried parents along the family members called up the college from which they learnt that she had left at her usual time.
They then started searching for her and after an intense hunt, Akshata’s body was found among the bushes near a temple, about 50 metres from the path passing through acacia plantation.
The exact cause for the death is not yet known, but it is suspected to be a case of murder, as her uniform shawl was found to be wrapped around her neck giving the appearance of strangulation, police sources said.
Akshata was said to be brilliant in her studies and had secured 97 percent in her SSLC exams. She was in the science section, of Byndoor Junior College. She had even won an award from the government for being among the toppers from rural areas. The award was presented to her recently in Mysuru.
She was eldest among three daughters of the Devadiga couple.
Meanwhile, Udupi SP Annamalai visited the spot along with other police personnel. Fingerprint experts and canine squad were also called. The body has been sent for post-mortem to Manipal.
The police will be able to come to a conclusion only after post-mortem, said Udupi SP Annamalai speaking to NewsKarnataka.
Byndoor police have registered a case under section (302) section (201) IPC, and investigations are on, he said.
