The Kopay Police on Wednesday (13 Sep.) recovered the body of a 12-year-old from a room of a lodge in the Thirunelveli area.

The girl is believed to have been deceased for a few days prior to her body being found, police said, adding that the child’s grandmother was also found unconscious in the room, and was subsequently admitted to the Jaffna Hospital for medical treatment.

A letter written by the deceased’s grandmother was also found in the room, in which she claimed that owing to her own feelings of suicide, she had decided that both she and her granddaughter would kill themselves so that the child would not be left alone.

Accordingly, the 63-year-old was placed under arrest and is currently receiving medical treatment at the Jaffna Hospital under police protection.

The body was found after an employee of the lodge in question had informed the Kopay Police of a foul odour coming from the room in which the child, identified as a resident of Trincomalee, and the grandmother had been staying.

Investigations have revealed that the girl, along with her 63-year-old grandmother, had arrived at the lodge on 09 September, after which she was fed 10 sleeping pills and given an insulin overdose. 

Meanwhile, the child’s body was handed over to her father upon completion of the postmortem examination, while further investigations into the murder are being carried out by the Kopay Police.