CUTTACK: The discovery of a 15-year-old boy’s body with injury marks on it near the Mahanadi river on Sunday morning has triggered a murder investigation. The body, bearing a stab wound on the neck, was spotted by locals who had gone to the river for a bath near the lower Balijatra ground. They alerted the police, following which a team from Cantonment police station reached the spot and launched an investigation with the help of a scientific team.
The deceased was later identified as Sumant Sahu, a resident of Raja Bagicha Badhei Sahi and a Class X student at a high school in the locality. Bloodstains were found extending nearly 100 metres from the riverbank.
Police suspect that the murder may be linked to a love affair involving a girl. However, the motive is yet to be conclusively established.
Family members said Sumant had last spoken to a friend of his elder brother around 8.40 am on the day. They also told police that two to three days back, two persons had visited their house at night and knocked on the door, asking for Sumant. They left after being told that he was not at home.
“After postmortem, the body was handed over to the family members. Though the family is yet to lodge a written complaint, a murder case has been registered at Cantonment police station based on circumstantial evidence. The investigation is underway to identify and apprehend those involved. We are verifying CCTV footage, call records and other digital evidence to ascertain the details,” a senior police officer said.
