Two days in mortuary, no one comes forward to claim body
File photo of Madanapalle girl’s murder accused Kulavardhan
Madanapalle: The brutal crime that had horrified residents of Madanapalle ended with a haunting twist-the accused died in the same way police say he killed a seven-year-old girl, by drowning in water, before being cremated as an unclaimed body with no family by his side till.
According to the police the accused, Kulavardhan died by suicide after jumping into a village tank while escaping from custody on Tuesday while the body was found on Wednesday morning.
His body remained in the government hospital mortuary for two days, but none of his relatives came forward to claim it. Finally, Sub Inspector of Police wrote to the Municipal Commissioner seeking to depute scavengers to handover the body for cremation, treating it as an unclaimed body on Thursday evening.
The shocking case had surfaced on the evening of February 16 when the parents of a seven-year-old girl from Neerugattuvaaripalle in Annamayya district reported her missing.
Police teams immediately began a search, scanning CCTV footage and questioning residents. Around 1.30 am., officers knocked on Kulavardhan’s door during their inquiry. When he did not respond, they looked through a window using a mobile flashlight and saw him lying beside liquor bottles. Assuming he was drunk and asleep, they left.
The next morning, when police returned and broke open the locked door, they found the girl’s body hidden inside a water drum in the house.
Kulavardhan denied involvement but was taken into custody. While being transported in a Rakshak vehicle, he managed to escape after police personnel briefly stepped out to control angry protesters gathered on the road, leaving only the driver inside. Seizing the chance, he ran away.
Special teams launched a search operation. The following morning, a village revenue officer alerted police about a body floating in a nearby tank. Officers later confirmed it was Kulavardhan. Investigators said he had drowned himself, mirroring the method he allegedly used in the crime — an end many locals described as grim fate.
Even after his body was brought to the mortuary, his mother and sister did not come to see him. Police called two distant relatives only for identification and post-mortem formalities, but no one claimed the body afterward. Residents said fear of public anger may have kept the family away, while some believed his mother had long distanced herself due to his behaviour.
As the town continued to mourn the innocent child, the accused’s final journey passed in silence. There were no mourners and no family rituals — only municipal workers performing the cremation, marking a lonely and stark conclusion to a crime that had once shaken the entire community.
