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Bengaluru: Two girls suffocated to death after they hid inside an ice cream freezer box while playing hide and seek at Masage village in Mysuru district of Karnataka, police said on Thursday .

According to police, the two girls, identified as 12-year-old Bhagya, daughter of Nagaraja Nayaka and Chikkadevamma and 7-year-old Kavya, daughter of Raja Nayaka and Gowramma were playing near their houses with friends just before the incident.

A Nanjangud police official said the girls entered an abandoned freezer in front of Bhagya’s house while playing. The freezer boxes were lying abandoned after an ice-cream parlour on the premises was shut down.

“These empty boxes have been lying unattended for over six months now. Around 11 am yesterday (Wednesday), Bhagya and Kavya and other students were playing hide and seek. During this time, these two girls entered the box and closed the lid,” said the official.

Police said that since the abandoned boxes were used for storing ice cream, they had heavy lids and could be opened only from the outside. “The boxes were designed that way. After the two girls entered the box, they were unable to open it as it was locked from the outside. After they could not be spotted their friends went home, while these two girls suffocated inside,” said the official.

The parents and local police began to search in the area after the girls did not return home in the evening. According to police, since the friends of the girls said they were playing hide and seek, the search was focused around their homes.

The bodies of the girls were found inside the freezer box, police said.

A senior Nanjangud Rural police official said that a complaint was lodged in the case but the girls were cremated without the police being informed. “We have done an enquiry on the incident and verified the statements given by the families. We are seeking legal opinion on whether a case needs to be registered,” said the officer.

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