Missing 10-year-old boy's decomposed body found

Hands missing, stench draws passer-by's attention

The decomposed body of a 10-year-old boy missing from west Delhi’s Shalimar Bagh area since Tuesday was recovered from outer Delhi’s Samaypur Badli on Sunday afternoon. The victim’s hands were missing.

Even though police are awaiting the autopsy report to determine how the boy died, officers investigating the case expressed certainty that it was a murder.

Whether he was sexually abused before being killed too would be known only after receiving the autopsy report. “The body had decomposed so badly that it was difficult to determine even the kind of possible injuries on the body,” a police officer told Deccan Herald.

“It is possible that the boy’s hands were eaten by an animal. We have not ruled out the possibility of him being run over by a train. But prima facie it appears to be a murder,” the officer added.

No suspects have been identified and no motive established. The victim’s mother told police that she does not remember having any enmity with anyone. No ransom calls were received either, said police. The boy, a class 4 student at a government school in Shalimar Bagh, had returned home during lunch break last Tuesday. On reaching home, he had requested his grandmother for Rs 2, which she refused.

Disappointed, the boy immediately left home without even having his lunch. When he did not return home by late evening, his family launched a search in nearby areas.

When that yielded no result, his mother approached police on Wednesday morning, following which a missing person complaint was registered.

The body was discovered by a passer-by on Sunday afternoon while he was walking along railway tracks in Samaypur Badli.

A stench emanating from a pit along the railway tracks near Sanjay Gandhi Transport Nagar had drawn his attention.

Police were informed and the body was sent for post-mortem. Shalimar Bagh police station was informed and the boy’s mother was asked to identify the body.

The boy stayed with his mother and grandmother at Sanjay Gandhi camp in Shalimar Bagh. His father works outside Delhi.