3 min readBengaluruJun 16, 2026 05:24 PM IST
The autopsy report of the six-year-old girl, who was allegedly killed by her mother and her live-in partner in March, has revealed that the child was possibly suffocated and kicked in her stomach, which led to her death.
Vennella P was reported dead on March 25, a day after her birthday, and the Kadugodi police booked her mother, Priyanka P, and her alleged boyfriend, G M Mohan, on murder charges only on June 4, months after the post-mortem report was released.
Priyanka was arrested on June 11, and Mohan on June 6.
A Bengaluru police officer said the post-mortem report shows that Vennela’s death was caused by “asphyxia due to obliterated windpipe and blunt force trauma to the abdomen”. “The report also highlighted a few more important things, including bloodstained fluid oozing out from both nostrils and mouth, and the peritoneal cavity contained 400 ml of blood and blood clots,” said a police officer.
The officer added they are waiting for the viscera report.
Speaking to the media Monday, the girl’s father, Praveen Basappa, said the truth about his daughter’s death came out after Priyanka’s brother raised suspicion and filed a complaint with the Kadugodi Police Station.
According to sources, Inspector Rangaswamy of the Kadugodi Police Station initially registered a case of unnatural death and a post-mortem was conducted. However, this allowed Priyanka and Mohan to approach a court for anticipatory bail, which was granted.
Basappa and Priyanka divorced after she began a relationship with Mohan and reportedly married him.
A delayed FIR
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Basappa later approached the Kadugodi police and filed a complaint alleging that Vennela was killed by Mohan and Priyanka as they treated her as an “obstacle” for their future.
“When I countered Rangaswamy with the post-mortem report, he asked me to wait for the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) report and sent me away,” said Basappa, owner of Cloud9 International School in Davanagere.
“After the post-mortem report came out, I sought help from my elder sister, Dr Poornima, a child specialist based in England. She immediately flagged serious discrepancies in the report and suspected foul play. Then, I met an IGP rank officer in Lokayukta who went through the report and then asked me to write a complaint,” he added.
In June, Reena Suvarna, Additional Commissioner of Police, Whitefield, and newly appointed Kadugodi police inspector Govardhan asked Basappa to appear before them with the post-mortem report, divorce application, and other evidence. After gathering the necessary information, they arrested Priyanka and Mohan.
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Meanwhile, Inspector Rangaswamy, Sub-Inspector Ningaraju, and Station Writer Halesh Naik, all attached to the Kadugodi Police Station, have been suspended for alleged lapses found during an inquiry led by the Mahadevapura assistant commissioner of police in probing the murder of Vennela.
The Bengaluru police said the three officers failed to promptly register an FIR despite the post-mortem report being available and allegedly delayed initiating a criminal investigation for nearly two months. The police said the officers are also accused of failing to conduct a proper inspection of the crime scene.
