Schoolboy’s body found, family alleges murder

NEWDELHI: The body of a 14-yearold student of a government school in south Delhi’s Madangir was found in a pond in Pul Prahladpur area on Wednesday, two days after he went missing after leaving home for school.

He was in the school uniform when his body was fished out of the pond by the Pul Prahladpur police with the help of locals.

Sumit Gupta lived with his parents and three brothers in Block T, Sangam Vihar. He studied in class 8 at a government school in Madangir. His father is a food vendor in Govindpuri area.

On Monday, around noon, he had left home for school. His friends saw him eating snacks at a shop outside the school. When they asked him if he was coming to school, Sumit told them that he would skip school as he had not completed his homework, police said.

The family members of the boy have alleged that he was murdered. They raised suspicions about two unidentified men, who were allegedly present at a roadside eatery where their son was last seen eating snacks.

Sumit’s uncle, Subhash Gupta, accused the police of not making any effort to search for the boy, even though the family had filed two missing person complaints at the Sangam Vihar and Ambedkar Nagar police stations.

“We visited the police stations several times but, except for giving us assurances, the policemen did nothing to find my nephew. One of the policemen sought money from us to search for him,” Gupta alleged.

Deputy commissioner of police (South) Vijay Kumar said the initial autopsy report of the boy showed that he died of drowning and no injury mark was found on his body. “If the family suspects foul play, we will probe that angle as well. Their other allegations will also be verified,” DCP Kumar said.

A police officer associated with the case said a kidnapping case was filed after Sumit’s family filed a complaint at the Sangam Vihar police station around 10pm on Monday. Another FIR was registered on their complaint at the Ambedkar Nagar police station.

“Several efforts, including uploading the boy’s photo and other details on zonal integrated police network and posting a hue-and-cry notice, were made but he could not be found. On Wednesday, the Pul Prahladpur police found the body in the pond. Sumit’s family members identified the body,” the officer said.