Aarey death: Missing body parts of 3-yr-old raise suspicion of foul play

Dharshinis severed head and limbs recovered on May 10The recovery of severed body parts of a threeyearold girl from a forest in Aarey last week has driven a wedge between the police and locals The police have nearly made up their mind that she was a victim of a leopard attack but her family and locals insist that the Aarey unit has not seen a mananimal conflict in the last 10 years The girls mortal remains recovered two days after her disappearance on May 8 have been inconclusive in providing clues to her death Her missing vertebrae and rib cage however point at a more sinister plot at playDharshini Muthuvel went missing from outside her shanty on a hillock at unit 13 in Bhavani Nagar Aarey on the night of May 8 The unit abuts a forested patch The girls body parts were found two days later from a desolate spot in the forest 400 m from her house The police were quick to blame the death on a leopard attack despite there being no evidence of leopard movement in the unitAlso read Mumbai Locals allege murder as threeyearold girl found dead in Aarey ColonyDharshinis head limbs and muscles recovered from a forest adjoining unit 13 in AareyDiffering claimsVijay Ovulkar senior inspector of Aarey police station asserted that it was indeed a case of mananimal conflict Just two days after the childs remains were found locals saw a leopard attacking a dog he saidAsked if any dog carcass had been recovered from the nearby forest he said the police didnt go looking for it We did not look for the carcass and believed what the locals were discussingTo bolster the polices claim of mananimal conflict he pointed at an attack on a child by a leopard in the neighbouring unit in March Luckily the childs mother saved him We believe that that girl was similarly attackedHowever Ovulkar admitted that there had been no report of a leopard attack in unit 13 in the last 10 years a claim made by localsVelmurugan a relative of Dharshinis father Muthuvel said locals find it difficult to believe the polices theory No one in the locality heard the childs cries for help that night She disappeared a little past 9 pm when shops were still open and neighbours were around Dharshini stepped outside the house after dinner to wash her hands and vanishedHe said the family has been staying in unit 13 for nearly a decade Never has a case of leopard attack being reported here We suspect that someone kidnapped her and no one saw it as it was the night after PoornimaInconclusive autopsyThe postmortem examination of Dharshinis remains hasnt helped resolve this disputeA preliminary certificate issued by the postmortem centre of Siddharth Hospital in Goregaon West states the death was caused by shock and haemorrhage due to multiple injuries and fractures with evidence of mutilation It makes no mention of whether Dharshini was a victim of an animal attack or of homicideSources from the postmortem centre said the childs head both upper limbs without the shoulder half a right foot pelvic bones with a few muscles attached a portion of the right thigh a part of the intestine and a few bones were recovered on May 10 The neck the torso the lower limbs the private parts the rib cage and the vertebrae were missingA forensic surgeon said the remains which had maggots showed signs of decomposition As the neck hasnt been found the doctors couldnt ascertain if the child died of strangulation The stomach which is missing could have established if she was intoxicated at the time of her death The loop of intestine recovered though will be tested for presence of any intoxicant We could however establish through the face that she wasnt smothered to death said the forensic surgeonHe said the girl suffered two injuries on the head one on the scalp above the left ear and another behind the right ear prior to death All other injuries were sustained after death indicating that the remains had been eaten by stray animals maybe even a leopardThe body samples have been preserved for histopathology chemical and DNA examinations The unidentified bones have been sent to the anatomy department of Grant Medical College to find out which body parts they belong to said the surgeonThe forensic surgeon revealed that the police asked if the autopsy report could make a mention of teeth marks and thereby attribute the death to a leopard attack The team however refused to acquiesceDharshini MuthuvelDCP zone 12 Dr Vinaykumar Rathod said the leopard attack is the polices primary theory But are keeping all other angles also open We have spoken to forest officials the autopsy surgeon and wildlife experts who have all hinted at the probability of a leopard attack We are awaiting the medical reportsRaising suspicion of foul play a wildlife expert said usually bodies of victims of leopard attacks are found intact At the location where the girls body was found there are a number of stray dogs It is not known whether dogs competing for food dragged the body awayDharshinis mortal remains have been cremated near her shanty Sources from the Thane forest department said based on the postmortem examination report the compensation process see box R8L compensation will be initiated shortly But a local alleged that the police are trying to pass off a murder as a mananimal conflict to avoid doling out compensation The police need to investigate the case thoroughly It isnt clear whether the girl was killed and then the body eaten by a wild animal or whether she died in a leopard attackWith inputs from Ranjeet Jadhav