Missing kid’s body found dumped in a Noida drain

The body of an 8-year-old boy was found in a gunny bag thrown in a drain outside his residence in Harola Village, Noida sector 5, on Monday morning.

The body of an 8-year-old boy was found in a sack thrown in a drain outside his residence in Harola Village, Noida sector 5, on Monday morning.

Gajrani Devi (left), Karan’s mother, at her residence in Harola village in Noida sector 5. (Salman Ali/HT Photo)

Karan, a class 1 student of a private school in Harola, had been missing from his house since Saturday afternoon.

“At 2 in the afternoon, Karan stepped out of his house to play, since there was a power cut in the locality. After two hours, when he did not return, we started looking for him in the neighbourhood. Unable to find him, we went to the police station at around 8 pm and lodged a complaint,” said Gajrani Devi, Karan’s mother.

On Monday morning, Karan’s grandfather Bechan Lal found his decomposing body in the drain, following which his family informed the police.

“At 7.30 am, Karan’s grandfather was alerted by a sweeper who was cleaning the drain about a gunny bag in the drain flowing outside our house. Since our boy was missing, he asked the sweeper to show him the bag. He found Karan’s body inside the bag,” said Ram Awtaar Prasad, Karan’s father.

Prasad works in a sewing machine manufacturing company in Seelampur, Delhi, and the family lives in a small house in Harola. Karan has four sisters.

“At 8 am on Monday, we received a call from Harola residents about the gunny bag,” said Amar Nath Yadav, station house officer, sector 20.

“Prima facie, it appears that Karan’s murder is a result of a rivalry between his family and neighbours in the locality. However, we have lodged an FIR against unknown persons. His body has been sent for postmortem and we will be able to reach a better conclusion by Tuesday,” said Yadav.

Karan’s mother too blames their neighbours for the murder of her son.

“We often had fights with four people who are our neighbours over issues such as water, etc. They have taken revenge on my son and I think they have murdered him. We demand strictest punishment for the culprits,” said Gajrani Devi.