6-year-old’s murder in Bengaluru: Three police officers suspended for dereliction of duty in handling the case

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A police probe revealed the alleged involvement of Priyanka, the child’s mother, and her live-in partner. | Photo Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto

A day after the arrest of the victim’s mother, Bengaluru City Police Commissioner Seemant Kumar Singh issued an order suspending three officers for alleged dereliction of duty in connection with the murder case of a six-year-old girl under the jurisdiction of Kadugodi Police Station.

The suspended officers include Rangaswamy H.M., former inspector of Kadugodi and presently posted at the Electronics City Traffic Station; sub-inspector Ningaraju; and police constable Halesh Naik.

The suspensions follow arrests in the murder case of the child, Vennela. A police probe revealed the alleged involvement of Priyanka, an advocate and the mother of the deceased, and her live-in partner, identified as G.M. Mohan.

According to the police, the incident unfolded on March 24. The couple allegedly murdered the child and attempted to pass it off as an accidental death. Initially, the police registered an Unnatural Death Report (UDR), noting that the incident was a death under suspicious circumstances. However, the father of the deceased, Praveen, grew suspicious and filed a complaint, but the registration of the complaint was allegedly delayed by the police. Persistent efforts by Praveen, who met senior officers multiple times, led to the registering of the case on June 4.

Home Minister Priyank Kharge said that the child’s post-mortem report had been received as early as April 4. Once the report was out, officials should have immediately treated it as a suspicious death and registered an FIR to investigate the case.

“They (the suspended officers) illegally kept the case within the ambit of a UDR (Unnatural Death Report) and adopted a delaying approach at their own level. This amounts to a serious dereliction of duty,” the minister told media persons on Friday.

The suspension was based on an internal inquiry ordered by Ramesh Banoth, Joint Commis