Body of 7-year-old found two days after he went missing in Kolhapur

The body of a 7-year-old child was found near his house in Kolhapur on Tuesday, two days after he was reported missing by his parents

PUNE The body of a 7-year-old child was found near his house in Kolhapur on Tuesday, two days after he was reported missing by his parents.

The body of a 7-year-old child was found near his house in Kolhapur on Tuesday, two days after he was reported missing by his parents. (Getty Images (FOR REPRESENTATIONAL PURPOSE))

The child was identified as Aarav Rakesh Kesare (7), a resident of Kapshi village in Shahuwadi area of Kolhapur district. He is survived by a father who and the child’s mother, who is a housewife.

The body of the child was found 100-150 metres in the area behind his house. The locals claim to have seen turmeric and vermillion near the boy’s body which has raised suspicion of it being a case of superstitious killing. However, police have not confirmed the motive yet and suspect that the turmeric was used for ornamental purposes to misdirect the investigation.

“Right now it is not confirmed whether it was a superstitious killing. The investigation is on from all angles. It is not right to call it a superstitious killing as it lacks confirmation. There are multiple teams working on this,” said Shailesh Balkawade, superintendent of Kolhapur police.

“Strangulation was found to be the cause of death in the post mortem, as per the doctors. There are multiple angles being explored,” said inspector Vijay Patil of Shahuwadi police station, where the case has been registered

The boy was reported missing from the vicinity of his house on October 2. His parents and his elder sibling were at home when he went missing.

A case under Section 302 of Indian Penal Code was registered at Shahuwadi police station.

The case came to light one month after another child was found to have been killed in Kagal area of the district. The child had also been missing for four days before he was found.