Hyderabad: A five-year-old girl, who disappeared from a gated residential society at Kowkoor near Bollaram in Telangana’s Medchal–Malkajgiri district, was found dead on Sunday in a water tank located in the cellar of the complex’s clubhouse, police said.
The child, whose father works as an agricultural scientist, was staying with him at the Villa Orchids residential complex. She had gone missing on Saturday evening, prompting her family to approach the Bollaram police, who began a search operation across the premises and surrounding areas.
Her body was recovered from the cellar of the society’s clubhouse, where a water tank is located. Police said the recovery came after an extensive search following the missing-person complaint.
CCTV recordings from the complex have become central to the investigation. The footage allegedly captured Vikram, a security guard deployed at the society, trailing the child shortly before she disappeared, as reported by NDTV.
Investigators said the girl was last seen in the guard’s company, and technical teams are analysing the recordings to establish the exact sequence of events.
According to preliminary police information, the accused may have demanded Rs 20 lakh from the child’s family in exchange for her release. He is suspected of abducting and killing the girl, although officers said the claims would be verified through forensic and digital evidence before any conclusion is drawn.
Investigators are also probing whether Vikram had been behaving unusually or moving around the society in a suspicious manner during the two days before the incident.
Mobile-phone location records reportedly suggest that he may have headed towards Secunderabad railway station after the child went missing, and police are tracking his digital footprint to map his movements.
Bollaram police have registered a case and Malkajgiri police have constituted 10 special teams to apprehend the guard, who continues to evade arrest. Officials said the teams are collecting forensic samples and examining CCTV footage, call-detail records and other technical evidence to determine the motive and circumstances of the death.
The incident has triggered alarm among residents of the villa complex, many of whom questioned the safety arrangements for children in gated residential complexes.