Greater Noida: A 15-year-old boy who had been reported missing from a village in Greater Noida on Thursday was found dead in an empty plot in Jewar’s Rohi on Friday night, officials said.
Police have launched an investigation to ascertain the cause of death and detained several people for questioning, they added.
“There were no visible injury marks on the body due to decomposition. The post-mortem report is awaited. We are investigating the case from every angle, including murder. We have taken around 10 people in for questioning,” said Sarthak Sengar, assistant commissioner of police (ACP), Greater Noida.
Sengar added that the exact cause of death will be known only after the post-mortem report arrives. However, the victim’s family alleged that the 15-year-old was “brutally murdered.”
According to police, the boy went missing from Banwarivas village in Jewar on Thursday evening, after which the family members launched a search operation. However, when they could not find him, they approached the police later that day .
Police said the boy left his home around evening on May 21 and did not return. The family then approached the police later that day after searching for him for several hours.
The boy’s father filed a complaint at the Jewar police station. He stated: “My son left the house somewhere between 3:30pm and 4pm on May 21, and has not returned home yet. We contacted all our relatives by phone and searched for him.”
Based on the complaint, police registered an FIR under Section 137 (kidnapping) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
Santosh Kumar, additional deputy commissioner of police (ADCP), Greater Noida, said: “Several teams were set up to look for the boy. On Friday, we received information that a body was lying in a vacant plot in Rohi village, Jewar. We reached the spot with the forensic team to secure the scene and sent the body for post-mortem examination.”
Officials said they have questioned several people as part of the investigation.
Police have so far found no evidence suggesting the boy was abducted, as there were no ransom calls or other indications of kidnapping.
Meanwhile, videos circulating on social media showed people in the Jewar area demanding justice for the boy.