Ghaziabad: Skeleton of 11-year-old boy found in jungles near Masuri

The body was found among bushes near Samaypur Katiyara village, said Surendra Nath Tiwary, deputy commissioner of police (DCP) of the rural zone

The skeletal remains of an 11-year-old boy who went missing last month have been found near a village in Ghaziabad, police said on Monday.

The local were first noticed by a local who found a human head lying in a thick growth of bushes outside the village. (Representational image)

The body was found among bushes near Samaypur Katiyara village, said Surendra Nath Tiwary, deputy commissioner of police (DCP) of the rural zone. The village falls under the jurisdiction of Masuri police station.

It was not immediately clear how the boy died but the skull was found at some distance from the rest of the remains. He was also wearing, what appeared to be, a blood-stained T-shirt on the basis of which his family identified him. The body has been sent for autopsy to ascertain the cause of death and forensic teams have collected evidence from the site, the DCP added.

“His body had decomposed, and the skeleton remained. It is possible that animals could have caused damage to the body during the period. We have formed teams to investigate the case and will try to probe different angles in the case,” he said.

The boy, a resident of the village, went missing on November 3 after stepped out of their home saying that he’d be back soon, his family told HT, adding that they had been looking for him in “neighbouring villages and even in neighbouring districts and states” ever since.

On November 4, police registered an FIR under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) section 137(2) (punishment for kidnapping) against unidentified persons on the basis of a complaint filed by his mother, Seema Devi.

The remains were first spotted by a local on Sunday afternoon, according to the family. The local noticed a human head lying in a thick growth of bushes outside the village.

Sagar Kumar, the elder brother of the boy, told HT, “On Sunday late afternoon, a boy from our village arrived and told us that he found a human-head-like part in the bushes outside the village. When we reached the spot, we found a human skull that seemed severed. At some distance we found a skeleton. We immediately informed the police.”

“I identified him with the help of the T-shirt,” the 24-year-old added.

The family have also told police about the boy’s contact with relative for their investigation.

“We do not have enmity with anyone. For about one and a half months before the incident, my brother had become friendly with a boy from one of our relatives with whom we had severed ties about one and a half years ago due to some personal dispute. We tried to stop my brother from going out with him, but he did not listen. Although we do not suspect their involvement, we have told police about the scenario, and they will investigate,” Kumar added.