The autopsy report of the 6-year-old girl Vennela, dated March 25, 2026, a copy of which The Hindu has accessed, indicates foil play. But the FIR was only registered on June 4.

The Kadugodi police registered only an Unnatural Death Registry (UDR) report on March 25, the day the girl was found dead.

The same day, the post-mortem report concluded the cause of death as “Death is due to combined effect of asphyxia as a result of obliteration of airway and blunt force trauma to the abdomen sustained”. The autopsy report also lists seven ante-mortem wounds, all ante-mortem–sustained before death–all in the facial region of the child, in the nasal area, below the chin, left maxillary region.

Senior police officials said that the autopsy report was unambigious. References to “asphyxia as a result of obliteration of airway” and “blunt force trauma to the abdomen” clearly indicated foul play, refers to murder, an official said.

However, the police not converting the UDR report into a murder case has raised questions. This has come under scrutiny and three police personnel have been suspended for alleged dereliction of duty.

The complainant in the case, Praveen, the deceased girl’s father, said he had separated from his wife, and the girl was living with her mother. He said his brother-in-law informed him of the girl’s death on the morning of March 25. He said his wife Priyanka claimed the girl ate biriyani from outside, slept and was found dead on March 25, while she also claimed that the girl had slept in a car with AC on the previous evening and was found dead the next morning.

He further said in his complaint that he sent the autopsy report to a doctor who flagged indications of foul play. But the police registered an FIR for murder only on June 4.