I was not allowed to see her body, claims the mother of the murdered girl

The body of a 10-year-old girl was found near the Kannampalayam tank catchment near Sulur in Coimbatore district on Friday (May 22, 2026). | Photo credit: S. Siva Saravanan

The mother of a 10-year-old girl who was sexually assaulted and murdered near Coimbatore on Sunday (May 24, 2026) alleged that her husband took the child’s body to his hometown in Salem and cremated it without her consent or permission to see the mortal remains.

Speaking to reporters in Coimbatore in the evening, the woman said she had decided not to accept her daughter’s body until “justice is done”. However, she was released from the Coimbatore mortuary after her husband’s signature was obtained, she said.

Police action wanted

“They did not show me the body and left the premises of ESI hospital through the back gate. Though we tried to follow the ambulance to catch a glimpse of the body, they left the place. Though I went to his native place in Salem, they cremated the body without showing me her face,” she alleged and demanded police action against her husband and relatives.

Responding to social media posts and allegations that she was under the influence of alcohol and was unconscious when main accused K. Karthi, 33, abducted her daughter from her neighborhood in Pallapalayam near Sulur on the evening of May 21, the woman said she drank a soft drink her husband kept in the fridge. She suspected that there was alcohol in it.

“I drank a cold drink from the fridge… I lost consciousness after consuming it,” the woman said, adding that no one should spread rumors about her in her current situation.

The woman also denied any acquaintance with Karthi as claimed by some people on social media. She said she only found out about him after his arrest and no one allowed her to explain her side.

Karthi, who reportedly suffered fractures to her right arm and leg while trying to flee from the police, was taken to the prisoner ward of the hospital’s intensive care unit.

Relief passed

Earlier, Transport Minister A. Vijay Tamilan Parthiban and Backward Classes Welfare Minister V. Sampath Kumar visited the girl’s birthplace in Mettur taluk of Salem district and handed over ₹7 lakh assistance to the family.

According to an official release, the relief was granted on behalf of the Department of Child Welfare and Special Services as directed by the Madras High Court. Collector K. Elambahavath, Superintendent of Police Gautam Goyal and other officials were present.

Published – 24 May 2026 23:18 IST