PURI: The decomposed body of an 11-year-old boy, who went missing five days back, was recovered from the septic tank of his neighbour’s house at Ratanpur village within Delang police limits here in the wee hours of Monday.
Briefing the media, Puri SP Vinit Agarwal said the accused, Pravakar Sahu, has been arrested on charges of abducting and murdering the boy. Sahu is a distant relative of the deceased.
On April 15, the boy mysteriously disappeared from his house in the evening. His family members searched the entire village but failed to trace him. The same night, the minor’s father lodged a complaint in Delang police station.
Basing on the complaint, police registered a missing case and started investigation. Members of the scientific team along with the dog squad were deployed to assist in the investigation but the boy could not be traced. Expressing displeasure over the failure of the cops, villagers even staged dharna in front of Delang police station demanding transfer of the case to the Crime Branch.
Eventually, police were tipped off about the boy’s death on Sunday night. A search operation was launched and the minor’s decomposed body was recovered from the septic tank of Sahu’s house.
Agarwal said the accused tried to escape but was nabbed by police. Sahu confessed to his crime and revealed that after abducting the boy on April 15, he killed him and dumped his body in the tank the same night.
The charges of murder and abduction have been added to the missing person FIR. Sahu is being interrogated to determine the motive behind the crime. After questioning, he will be produced in court. The boy’s body was sent to the Puri district headquarters hospital for postmortem and further investigation is underway, the SP added.