The mysterious death of a seven-year-old boy in Telangana's Nalgonda district has shaken his native village, after his body was found on the roof of his home, with bruise marks, after he went missing during the day.
The incident took place in Pannalagudem village, close to Nakrekal town and the deceased was identified as Sathvik, a Class 3 student. Speaking to local media outlets, many locals said that they had never witnessed such an incident before. A pall of gloom descended over locals as visuals showed relatives of the boy wailing, as they tried to make sense of his death.
"He was playing in the evening with some other boys. I went to Nalgonda while my wife also went out to a shop. I returned after 3 pm but I just assumed that he was playing somewhere. When he didn't return by 5 30 pm, I began getting worried and searched for him. When we couldn't find him, we filed a missing complaint with the police," the minor's father told reporters.
"We continued to search for him in the night but we couldn't find him. Even at around midnight, his body was not on the roof. We suspect that someone dumped it there after killing him in the early hours of the morning," he added.
The boy's father and mother told the media that they did not suspect anyone and did not understand the motive for the murder.
"The boy had slight fever and didn't go to school. He was last seen playing with the children in his neighbourhood. Our preliminary investigation suggests that some unidentified persons have killed the boy and dumped his body there. We have called dog squads and the CLUES teams to help us with forensic evidence. We have registered a case and the incident is being investigated. We have no suspects as of now, but we will reveal further details soon," the local investigating officer from the Nakrekal police station told the media.
According to media reports, Nalgonda Deputy Superintendent (DSP) Ganga Ram also visited the spot to oversee the investigation of the case.