KOLLAM: The body of a six-year-old girl who was reported missing from near Kollam for the past 24 hours was found along the banks of a nearby river on Friday morning. She went missing when she was playing in front of her house at Elavur in Nedumankavu, Kollam.

The body was recovered from the Ithikkara River which is near her house by the divers this morning at 7.30 am. The river is 60 metres away from her house. Her body was found when the police was conducting a search. A team of the forensic department and the dog squad conducted a probe last night.

The inquest will be held after scientific experts examine the body. Whether any other finger prints are in the body will be examined. The Kannanalloor police said that it is impossible to ascertain whether there is any mystery now. The girl’s father Pradeep Kumar who is abroad has reached the place.

Devanandha alias Ponnu was the daughter of Pradeep Kumar and Dhanya (Ambili). She was a class one student of Saraswathy Vidyanikethan in Vakkanad. Only her mother Dhanya and her six-month-old baby were in the house at the time of the incident. Dhanya’s parents had gone out. When Devanandha was playing in the house, her mother had gone inside to wash the clothes.

The police had on Thursday launched a massive search operation for the minor who was reported missing since 11 am on Thursday.

"We found the body along the banks of the river today morning. We had yesterday searched the river, but could not find anything," police said.

After preliminary inquest, the body was taken to a nearby hospital for post-mortem. "The cause of death is yet to be ascertained," police said.

The Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights has taken suo motu cognisance of the matter.