The girl, along with over 50 families, belonging to the Adi Karnataka community, had arrived in Mysuru from Kalaburagi to sell balloons, toys and trinkets during the Dasara festival.
Published Oct 10, 2025 | 1:38 PM ⚊ Updated Oct 10, 2025 | 1:38 PM
The accused Karthik (31).
Synopsis: A 10-year-old tribal girl’s body was found near the Mysuru Dasara Exhibition Grounds. Mysuru police suspect the child was sexually assaulted before being murdered. The police traced the suspect, Karthik (31), to Kollegal in Chamarajnagara district based on CCTV footage, where he had fled after committing the crime.
A 10-year-old tribal girl’s body was found near the Mysuru Dasara Exhibition Grounds, close to Mysuru Palace, in Karnataka early on Thursday, 10 October. Mysuru police suspect the child was sexually assaulted before being murdered.
The girl, along with over 50 families, belonging to the Adi Karnataka community, had arrived in Mysuru from Kalaburagi to sell balloons, toys and trinkets during the Dasara festival.
The families were camping at makeshift tents along the exhibition grounds. However, in the early hours of Thursday, they found the girl, who was sleeping with her grandmother, missing.
The police traced the suspect, Karthik (31), to Kollegal in Chamarajnagara district based on CCTV footage, where he had fled after committing the crime. The incident is said to have occurred between 11.30 pm and 5 am. He was also shot in the leg during an encounter with the police.
The family filed a missing person complaint at Nazarbad Police Station in Mysuru. A search led to the discovery of the girl’s body more than 50 metres away from the tent, in a ditch near a drainage, at around 6.30 am. Her family members claimed that there were blood stains on the body and that she wasn’t fully clothed.
The girl’s body has been sent for a postmortem examination, and further investigation is underway.
An FIR has been registered under Sections 4, 5(i), 5(m), and 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, along with Sections 137(2), 65(2), and 103(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
According to reports, the accused has a criminal history, including a previous arrest in an attempted rape case in Mandya. He was released from prison recently and is also said to be an alcoholic.
Condemning the incident, Mysuru MP Yaduveer Wadiyar said, “Such incidents have not happened in Mysuru before. Law and order have deteriorated. How can such incidents happen in the heart of the city?”
The incident also comes just two days after another murder in the same area. Venkatesh, a resident of Mysuru, was brutally attacked by a gang of four to five members on Tuesday, near the exhibition grounds.
The accused threw chilli powder in his eyes during the attack. Police suspect old enmity between the victim and the culprits.
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil.)
