Andhra girl missing case: Mystery deepens as pet dog returns, dies
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Amaravati: The search for a two-year-old girl who went missing from a palm oil plantation in Andhra Pradesh’s Kakinada district has intensified with the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) joining the operation on Sunday, while the case took a mysterious turn after the child’s pet dog returned home and later died.
Following directions from Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan, the NDRF team joined the efforts to trace Sunkara Gnaneswari, who has been missing since June 6.
The State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) is already involved in the search operation. A 40-member SDRF team, along with police, revenue, fire and forest department personnel, has been conducting extensive searches to locate the child.
The operation suffered a setback on Saturday after the pet dog that had accompanied the girl when she went missing died. The dog had reportedly been behaving unusually since returning home on June 9 and had refused food.
Officials said the dog travelled nearly 80 km after being fitted with a GPS tracking device. It died after returning from the orchards around the village, and officials suspect it may have contracted a virus. The dog’s body has been sent for a post-mortem examination to determine the exact cause of death.
Authorities are also using drones to search for the missing child. The district administration has announced a reward of Rs one lakh for anyone providing information that helps trace Gnaneswari.
Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan reviewed the situation and spoke to Kakinada district Superintendent of Police G. Bindu Madhav over the phone. He directed officials to utilise NDRF teams along with the ongoing search operations by police and SDRF personnel.
He also advised taking the help of forest department night watchers, base camp watchers and experts experienced in navigating dense forest areas, while conducting wider searches in the surrounding regions.
State Home Minister V. Anitha is closely monitoring the developments and has remained in regular contact with district officials.
Kakinada SP said more than 400 personnel are currently engaged in the search operation. He added that detailed searches are being carried out with the help of advanced drones, and footage from 38 CCTV cameras around the girl’s house has been examined.
Gnaneswari went missing on June 6 from a palm oil plantation at Ch. Agraharam in Tuni mandal.
According to police, the child had accompanied her parents, Sunkara Ganesh and Bhavani, who work as caretakers of the plantation, along with their pet dog.
The girl went missing due to a misunderstanding between the parents. After reaching home, the couple realised that neither of them had brought the child back from the plantation.
A villager spotted the girl near a hill with her pet dog on the same evening. He tried to bring her home, but the dog barked at him and prevented him from approaching the child.
The following day, the parents lodged a complaint with Tuni police, who immediately launched a search operation.
On June 9, the pet dog returned home without the girl. On June 12, police fitted the dog with a GPS tracking device in the hope that its movements could provide clues about the child’s whereabouts.
However, the tracking exercise did not yield any breakthrough, and the dog’s death has further deepened the mystery surrounding the case.
With IANS inputs