Missing 10-year-old Kovilpatti boy found dead on terrace

MADURAI: A ten-year-old boy, who went missing on Monday morning in Kovilpatti of Thoothukudi district, was found dead under mysterious circumstances on Tuesday.

After an extensive search by his parents and relatives throughout the day and night, they were shocked to see the boy found lying on the terrace of the house at Gandhi Nagar.

Subsequently, the boy, who seemed unconscious, was taken to Kovilpatti Government Headquarters Hospital, where a doctor declared him dead.

Sources added that the 10-year-old boy was alone in the house on Monday when his parents left for menial work. His elder brother Manikandan, who is in Class 7, left for school.

Thoothukudi Superintendent of Police Albert John and Kovilpatti Deputy Superintendent of Police V Jagan inspected the spot and held inquiries with the victim’s relatives and neighbours at the locality.

Forensic experts also examined the scene to get some clues. Further sources said the boy was murdered for his jewels and could have been sexually assaulted by men.

The Kovilpatti DSP said the boy, who is studying Class 5, was unwell after he suffered smallpox and did not attend classes over some days recently. There were no signs of injury marks on the body. The exact cause of his death is still to be determined.

Based on a complaint lodged by the boy’s mother Sundari, Kovilpatti West Police on Monday filed a ‘boy missing’ case and it has been altered to a case of ‘suspicious death’ on Tuesday.

The boy wore a ring on his finger and no other jewels as told by his mother. A post-mortem examination was conducted in Thoothukudi Government Medical College Hospital and the exact cause of death would be known based on the report, the DSP said.