The Bengaluru police recently suspended three police personnel attached to the Kadugodi police station for alleged lapses in probing the murder of six-year-old Vennela.
The suspended officers have been identified as Inspector Rangaswamy, Sub-Inspector Ningaraju, and Station Writer Halesh Naik. According to the police, the three officers failed to promptly register an FIR despite the availability of the post-mortem report and allegedly delayed initiating a criminal investigation into the case for nearly two months. They are also accused of failing to conduct a proper inspection of the crime scene.
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The lapses came to light during an inquiry led by the Mahadevapura assistant commissioner of police.
Vennela’s death was initially registered as an Unnatural Death Report (UDR). However, despite the post-mortem findings raising suspicion, the FIR was registered only on June 4, nearly two months after the autopsy report became available. The child was reported dead on March 25, a day after her birthday celebrations.
The girl’s father, Praveen Basappa, had alleged that the mother of the child and her alleged lover had murdered the victim.
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The police on Thursday arrested Priyanka, 40, the lawyer mother of the child. The woman’s lover, G M Mohan, was arrested earlier this month. The duo was allegedly absconding following the child’s death.
Speaking to reporters, Bengaluru Police Commissioner Seemant Kumar Singh said, “The case has now been transferred to a new investigating officer from another division. An ACP-level investigation will be conducted to establish the sequence of events and ascertain the motive and intention behind the child’s murder.”
The police said further action would be taken based on the findings of the ongoing probe.
The lapses came to light during an inquiry led by the Mahadevapura assistant commissioner of police. (Representative Image) 
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