Palakkad ,07 September (H.S.):

Police have launched a murder investigation after the dismembered bodies of a woman and a young girl were found packed in three sacks in the Bhavani river at Attappady in Palakkad district.

The sacks were spotted near Cheerakkadavu by local residents on Sunday afternoon after the river's water level receded. The river had remained swollen until recently, and the bundles became visible only when the flow subsided.

Residents became suspicious and opened one of the sacks. They were shocked to find two severed heads inside and immediately alerted the police. Officers from Pudur police station reached the area and examined a second sack, which contained the headless torso of the child. The victims are believed to be a woman aged around 30 and a girl aged about five.

The third sack was initially left unopened pending forensic examination. The recovered remains were later shifted to Medical College Hospital, Thrissur, for post-mortem examination. Forensic specialists inspected the riverbank and collected evidence from the scene.

Preliminary assessment indicated that the victims may have been dead for about five days. Police suspect that the woman and child were murdered elsewhere, their bodies cut into pieces and placed in separate sacks before being thrown into the river.

Investigators believe machinery or sharp equipment may have been used to dismember the bodies. The victims were found wearing only undergarments, strengthening suspicion that the crime was carefully planned. Police are also examining whether more than one person was involved.

Another possibility under investigation is that the sacks were dumped upstream and carried to Cheerakkadavu by the strong current before the water level fell. Efforts are underway to identify the victims through missing-person reports and other evidence. As the Bhavani river flows from Tamil Nadu into Kerala, the inquiry has also been extended to Tamil Nadu.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Arun Lakshman