Published Sep 07, 2026 | 12:08 PM ⚊ Updated Sep 07, 2026 | 12:08 PM
Bhavanipuzha river at Cheerakadavu in Puthur, Attappady. (Photo | Wikipedia)
The mystery surrounding the bodies of a young woman and a five-year-old girl found in three sacks in the Bhavanipuzha river at Cheerakadavu in Puthur, Attappady, deepened on Monday. Police suspect the two were murdered and that more than one person may have been involved.
The three sacks were spotted on Sunday afternoon, after the river’s strong current receded.
Residents tending to their cattle noticed the sacks floating near the riverbank and alerted the police.
A search by the police and forensic team found the severed heads of a woman believed to be around 30 and a girl aged about five in one of the sacks.
The girl’s body was recovered from another sack around 50 metres away, while the woman’s body was found in a third sack nearly half a kilometre from the other two.
Both bodies were found folded at the hips, with their arms and legs drawn in, wrapped in plastic and stuffed into the sacks.
They were wearing only undergarments.
Based on the condition of the remains, investigators estimated that the victims had been dead for around five days to a week.
Police suspect their throats were cut using a sharp-edged tool and believe the manner in which the bodies were dismembered and packed points to the involvement of more than one person.
The sacks were reportedly biryani-rice bags distributed from Tamil Nadu and available in Keralam. Police are examining where they were purchased and have reportedly identified a shop at Kottathara from which the bags may have been bought.
Investigators are also checking missing-person records in Attappady and adjoining areas, including locations close to the Tamil Nadu border.
Preliminary unofficial indications are that the victims may be from another state and that the suspected assailant may also be from outside Keralam.
Police are probing a possible domestic dispute, with suspicions that the woman could be the wife of the suspected accused.
The bodies have been shifted to Thrissur Government Medical College Hospital, where postmortem examinations are scheduled to be conducted.
Agali Deputy Superintendent of Police R Ashokan is leading the investigation, with a police team including Agali Circle Inspector C Ratheesh examining the circumstances surrounding the deaths.
Investigators are now trying to establish who the victims are, where and when the murders took place, and how the sacks reached the Bhavanipuzha river.
Also Read:
(With inputs from Dileep V Kumar.)
