The Crime Branch-Criminal Investigation Department (CB-CID) on Thursday, October 22, initiated a probe into the missing case of a seven-year-old girl near Gingee in Tamil Nadu's Villupuram district. Despite an extensive search operation, the district police have been unable to find her for 11 days.
The case was transferred to the CB-CID by Director General of Police (DGP) Mahesh Kumar Agarwal. The child, identified as V Hemavathi, went missing in the early hours of October 12, a day after celebrating her birthday at home.
According to reports, more than 100 police personnel, eight special teams, sniffer dogs, and thermal drones have been deployed in the search. The search covered waterbodies, agricultural fields, hillocks, wells and other locations around the village, but the police have not found any tangible leads.
Hemavathi is the daughter of Vadivelu, a daily-wage worker, and Bhavani, who live on Kulakkarai Street in Alampoondi near Gingee. She is a class 2 student at a government primary school in the village. Her elder sister is a college student.
According to the family, the child celebrated her birthday on October 11 and went to sleep with her parents and grandmother around 11 pm. The family found that she was missing around 6 am the next day. The family first searched the area around their house, believing that the child might have stepped outside to relieve herself. Their house does not have a toilet and they looked in nearby fields, along a canal behind their home, but could not find her.
Later, they approached the Sathyamangalam police, who registered a case.
Following the complaint, the Villupuram district police launched a search operation by forming five special teams. The number of teams on the search was later increased to eight, led by three Deputy Superintendents of Police (DSPs).
Fishermen from Kottakuppam near Marakkanam were also brought in to assist in searching the waterbodies. Police personnel also questioned the girl's family, relatives, neighbours, and other residents, while teams conducted door-to-door verification in Alampoondi and neighbouring villages.
Investigators also examined the backgrounds of people in the locality and nearby villages with criminal records, including those against whom cases had been registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. They checked whether anyone had gone missing from the village after the child disappeared.
On October 20, police began digging through a garbage-dumping site near the girl’s house to look for possible evidence. Investigators are also examining the possibility of an abduction by a group through neighbouring villages.
As part of the investigation, the police analysed around 600 mobile phone calls recorded by three mobile towers in the area between 11 pm on October 11 to 3 am on October 12. The police also reviewed CCTV footage from two cameras on the road connecting Alampoondi and Tiruvannamalai, covering the period between 9 pm on October 11 and 6 am on October 12.
Notices carrying the child’s photograph have been circulated to police stations across Tamil Nadu. A team led by Shanmugam, a retired forensic science expert from Chennai, is also conducting forensic examinations at the girl’s house.
The prolonged absence of any breakthrough in the case has drawn criticism from political parties, calling authorities to intensify efforts to trace the child.
On Thursday, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) workers led by Arani MP MS Tharaniventhan and former Minister Gingee KS Masthan blocked Thiruvannamalai Road, questioning the police approach to the investigation. They demanded the government step up efforts to locate the girl and provide answers to her family.
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