Autopsy performed on pet dog linked to search for missing toddler in Tuni

A team of veterinarians conducted a post-mortem on an adult dog at the N. Sooravaram Veterinary Hospital near Tuni in Kakinada district on Sunday as part of an investigation into the death of the animal.

The dog accompanied two-year-old Sunkara Gnaneswari, who went missing in a palm plantation in Ch. Agraharam village in Tuni mandal on June 6.

According to police, the girl and the pet dog went missing on the same day. The dog returned home on June 9 and was subsequently fitted with a GPS tracker to be used in the search for the child. The animal, which reportedly traveled more than 80 kilometers during the search, died under suspicious circumstances at the girl’s residence on June 13.

Tuni Circle Inspector G. Chennakesava Rao told The Hindu on Sunday that the blood samples and the veterinarians’ report have been sent to the forensic laboratory in Visakhapatnam for examination.

“The autopsy has been completed and the samples have been sent for forensic analysis,” he said.

Mr. Rao said the search for the missing girl had been extended to a radius of up to 10 kilometers from the palm oil plantation where she was last seen.

Inspector General of Police (Eluru Range) GVG Ashok Kumar told The Hindu that National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel joined the operation on Sunday. A team of 30 NDRF personnel has been deployed, taking the total number of police, state disaster response forces and forest department personnel involved in the search to over 400.

Police are also examining footage from 38 CCTV cameras installed around the girl’s residence.

Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister K. Pawan Kalyan on Saturday directed Kakinada Senior Superintendent of Police Bindhu Madhav to expedite the investigation as well as the search for the missing child.

Published – 14 Jun 2026 19:33 IST