Class 3 boy’s murder: Police probe sexual assault angle; autopsy points to smothering

The boy’s face had been smashed with a brick, indicating a brutal attack. Police suspect that the attackers tried to sexually assault the child and killed him when he resisted

LUCKNOW The gruesome murder of an eight-year-old boy in Lucknow’s Gudamba area has left the city in shock, as investigators now suspect a sexual assault attempt before the child was brutally killed. The victim, a Class 3 student at a local primary school, went missing on Tuesday evening after he stepped out of his house around 6:30 pm, telling his family he was going to relieve himself.

Four police teams are probing the case, questioning several suspects. CCTV footage from the area is being reviewed, and call detail records of active mobile numbers near the crime scene are under examination. (Pic for representation)

When the boy did not return within an hour, his family launched a frantic search and later filed a missing complaint that night. Despite police efforts, the child could not be traced. On Wednesday morning, a local youth spotted the boy’s body floating in a pond.

The post-mortem report confirmed that the cause of death was suffocation, likely from pressure on the neck and mouth. The boy’s face had been smashed with a brick, indicating a brutal attack. Police suspect that the attackers tried to sexually assault the child and killed him when he resisted.

“Samples have been collected to rule out sexual assault,” said a senior police official.

Four police teams are probing the case, questioning several suspects. CCTV footage from the area is being reviewed, and call detail records of active mobile numbers near the crime scene are under examination.