Kerala girls found dead on rail track not murdered: Police

Two schoolgirls who were found dead on a rail track near Palakkad in Kerala were not murdered, according to the police team probing the deaths. Another girl is battling for life in hospital.

Inspector General of Police Manoj Abraham told reporters here on Tuesday that police do not think that the girls -- whose bodies were found on Monday -- were murdered.

"We are looking into their diaries and social media activities. These girls, from what we have identified so far, were mentally disturbed as they had family problems," said Abraham.

The three girls -- all aged 16 -- hailed from Konni near here and were classmates in a government school. They had not returned home since July 9.

While two of them were found dead near the railway track on Monday, the third girl was taken to a hospital in Thrissur, and is currently battling for life.

Police suspect that the girls jumped out of a moving train.

Their bags and personal belongings, as well as an entry ticket to a garden in Bengaluru, were recovered from a train on Monday evening.

Abraham said police were investigating the girls' recent trip to Bengaluru.

Police were also looking into CCTV footage of the garden they had visited and checking if they were alone or were in the company of others.

A youth from Kozhikode has been detained after it was found that he was a 'chat friend' of one of the girls.

State Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala told reporters in capital Thiruvananthapuram that the probe was going on "very effectively" and they were awaiting more details from police.

The last rites of the two girls were conducted on Tuesday in their native village near here.