Sambalpur:A 15-year-old student was found dead with severe head injuries in a forest area of Bargarh district on Monday. Police have detained his classmate for questioning in connection with the incident.
The deceased, a Class 9 student, was last seen on Sunday morning when a friend called him out of his house. Witnesses reported seeing the two heading towards the forest around 9am.
“When my nephew did not return home, we launched a search and filed a police complaint at around 11pm. We want justice as this is clearly a murder,” said the deceased’s uncle.
On Monday morning, villagers spotted the student’s bicycle in the jungle. Subsequently, family members discovered his slippers nearby and then found his body in a pool of blood. A blood-stained rock, believed to be the murder weapon, was recovered from the scene.
A police officer confirmed that authorities are treating the case as murder. “We are interrogating the deceased’s batchmate who was last seen with him. The investigation is ongoing,” he said.
The deceased’s body has been seized by the police for a post-mortem examination.