Kerala is yet to be relieved from the shocking death of Devananda, the 6-year-old girl who was found dead in a lake near her house in Kollam district, a day after she went missing. A gesture to condole her untimely death and pay tribute to the little girl, Devananda’s school has christened the classroom she studied after her.
Devananda was a class one student of Saraswathi Vidya Nikethan School at Vakkanadu in Kollam. In a function held at the school on Monday, while commemorating her death, the school authorities named the class one room as ‘Devananda’ in the presence of her anguishing parents.
It was last Thursday that Devananda’s mother had asked her to stay back at home while she went to wash clothes nearby. However, on returning, the mother found that Devananda was missing. An extensive search by her neighbours and police, as well as posts on social media by celebrities and others, drew a blank. More than 14 hours after she went missing, the six-year-old’s body was found floating in a lake just 500 metres away from her house, on Friday. The death of the child still remains a mystery as the family has alleged that she was kidnapped.
“Devananda was a special child, she was really smart and everyone was fond of her. This is such an unfortunate incident and we wish such a thing should not happen to anybody. During the commemoration meeting, we decided that the classroom where she studied should be permanently named after her,” Vijayakumar, the patron of the school, told TNM.
The school officials have also decided to name the prayer hall of the school, which is under construction, after ‘Devananda’.
“She will be fondly remembered by everyone in this school and this is a kind gesture we are doing in her remembrance,” Vijayakumar added.
According to the post-mortem reports, it has been found that the child died of drowning and that there were no signs of assault on her. The police inquest report has also said that there are no signs of assault. However, the family stands strong, alleging that she was kidnapped as she never left the house or did anything without informing her mother.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan also condoled her death in the state Assembly on Tuesday, saying that her death is "a never-ending sorrow of Kerala".
“The police have been directed to be cautious if children are spotted alone anywhere. Not only the police but the public also should be cautious in the matter. A tragedy like this should never happen in Kerala and we all should be alert about this,” said Pinarayi Vijayan.
The CM also added that the samples collected from Devananda’s mortal remains have been sent to Chemical Examiner’s Laboratory and the Kerala State Forensic Science laboratory in Thiruvananthapuram to confirm where she was assaulted or not.
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