Body of missing 11-year-old boy found in neighbour’s septic tank | Bhubaneswar News
Bhubaneswar: Search for an 11-year-old boy, who was missing since April 15 from Delang area in Puri district, ended in tragedy with police finding his body in a neighbour’s septic tank on Monday.
Discovery of the decomposed body of Ashirbad Sahoo, fondly called Ashu, sparked outrage among locals who vandalised accused Prabhakar Sahoo’s residence, prompting heavy police deployment to control the situation.
Though police have taken Prabhakar, in his 30s, into custody for questioning, the motive for the murder is yet to be ascertained. Preliminary investigation suggests that business rivalry between Ashu’s father, Manas Kumar Sahoo, and Prabhakar resulted in the child’s death. Both are into betel nut trading.
“Previous hostility between the child’s father and the primary suspect led to the murder. We are investigating the specific details of their previous enmity. We are also working to understand the crime’s circumstances, motive and execution method,” Puri SP, Vinit Agrawal, said.
The SP added that they’re investigating why the suspect targeted the child if his dispute was with the father.
Prima facie, police suspect that Prabhakar strangled Ashu to death and disposed of his body in the septic tank. Police said it was difficult to find any injury marks on the body because it was already decomposed. Post-mortem report will ascertain the cause of death.
Locals demanded that police should investigate Prabhakar’s weird behaviour towards children in the village. Prabhakar had been under police scanner since Ashu’s disappearance on April 15. Residents had suspected him due to his business conflict with Manas and informed the police. Despite questioning during the investigation, police initially lacked evidence against Prabhakar.
Cops maintained covert surveillance on Prabhakar before obtaining definite evidence. Prabhakar, a father of two, mostly resided at his in-laws’ home in Tangi area of Khurda district.
Following the recovery of Ashu’s body, angry villagers stormed and vandalised Prabhakar’s vacant house, while his family was away.
“We will not allow his family to live in our village. Nobody liked Prabhakar for his misconduct with villagers. Police should disclose the motive of killing the child and ensure speedy trial and stringent punishment for him,” Basanta Mohanty, a villager, said.
Discovery of the decomposed body of Ashirbad Sahoo, fondly called Ashu, sparked outrage among locals who vandalised accused Prabhakar Sahoo’s residence, prompting heavy police deployment to control the situation.
Though police have taken Prabhakar, in his 30s, into custody for questioning, the motive for the murder is yet to be ascertained. Preliminary investigation suggests that business rivalry between Ashu’s father, Manas Kumar Sahoo, and Prabhakar resulted in the child’s death. Both are into betel nut trading.
“Previous hostility between the child’s father and the primary suspect led to the murder. We are investigating the specific details of their previous enmity. We are also working to understand the crime’s circumstances, motive and execution method,” Puri SP, Vinit Agrawal, said.
The SP added that they’re investigating why the suspect targeted the child if his dispute was with the father.
Prima facie, police suspect that Prabhakar strangled Ashu to death and disposed of his body in the septic tank. Police said it was difficult to find any injury marks on the body because it was already decomposed. Post-mortem report will ascertain the cause of death.
Locals demanded that police should investigate Prabhakar’s weird behaviour towards children in the village. Prabhakar had been under police scanner since Ashu’s disappearance on April 15. Residents had suspected him due to his business conflict with Manas and informed the police. Despite questioning during the investigation, police initially lacked evidence against Prabhakar.
Cops maintained covert surveillance on Prabhakar before obtaining definite evidence. Prabhakar, a father of two, mostly resided at his in-laws’ home in Tangi area of Khurda district.
Following the recovery of Ashu’s body, angry villagers stormed and vandalised Prabhakar’s vacant house, while his family was away.
“We will not allow his family to live in our village. Nobody liked Prabhakar for his misconduct with villagers. Police should disclose the motive of killing the child and ensure speedy trial and stringent punishment for him,” Basanta Mohanty, a villager, said.
