An 11-year-old boy was allegedly killed and his body was hidden inside a blue drum at his own home in Bank Colony, under Kolgawan Police Station limits, in Madhya Pradesh's Satna district.
A laundry shop operator from the same colony, Mathura Rajak, 45, is suspected of slitting the child's throat with a sickle before concealing the body. His shop is currently closed, and his mobile phone remains switched off, reported Hindustan Times.
The incident came to light after the boy’s mother returned home at around 12.30 pm and found the house locked from the outside and her son missing. After searching for him without success, she alerted neighbours and contacted the police. "Officers broke open the door and discovered bloodstains on a pillow before finding the body in the blue drum at 3 pm," police said.
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Far away, the family targeted
According to the HT report, the boy's father, Ramesh Rajak, was away working in Maharashtra at the time of the incident. Family members told police that Mathura had been harassing Asha during her husband's absence, which led to a confrontation with Ramesh around 10 days before the killing. Mathura had reportedly issued threats against the family following that dispute.
Per HT, Additional Superintendent of Police Shivesh Singh Baghel confirmed that the boy was alone at home when the incident occurred. The body was recovered from inside the blue drum at around 3 pm after officers forced entry into the locked residence.
Legal action
An FIR has been registered under Section 103 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, pertaining to murder. Police are actively working to locate Mathura.
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In a separate incident reported earlier this month by the Hindustan Times, a 19-year-old college student was brutally murdered in Himachal Pradesh's Mandi district. The victim was attacked with a sickle while on her way to college, and the accused was subsequently arrested.
