ROURKELA: In a shocking incident, a Class-IX student (15) was stoned to death by two of his friends after they picked up a quarrel over a trivial issue in Rourkela. The body of the student, who had been missing since Sunday, was retrieved from a bushy area along Hecket Road under RN Pali police limits on Tuesday.
Police sources said worried parents of the victim had lodged a missing complaint at the RN Pali police station after not finding him since Sunday evening. A team of police officials had been searching for the boy for the last two days.
The Father of the student said they gradually picked up hints about the incident and the possible involvement of the juvenile offenders, who study in Class IX in another school.
Panposh sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) Upasana Padhi said the parents provided clues that their son used to spend time with the two friends which helped them. Along with the two, another boy, who witnessed the crime has been detained for recording statements, she said.
As per the preliminary investigation, on a fateful day, the teenagers were on a pleasure trip in bi-cycles to the spot where they picked up a quarrel over sharing an earphone. The quarrel turned into a physical fight and then the two attacked the victim with stone and fled the scene.
Police said the juvenile offenders belong to the Orampada area under Uditnagar police limits and the locality is known for criminal and anti-social activities. The body has been sent for postmortem and further investigation is on.