Missing teenage boy found dead in Bengal, two arrested

The body of a teenage boy, who went missing on Monday, was recovered on Wednesday from a bush near his house in West Bengal’s East Midnapore district, police said.

Anus patra (12) went missing after he had gone out for Durga Puja pandal-hopping with friends on October 15. His body was recovered on Wednesday morning, an officer of the Junput Coastal Police Station said.

“There were strangulation marks on his neck. It seems he was strangulated to death using the T-shirt he was wearing. The body has been sent for autopsy,” he said.

Police said they have arrested two local youths for kidnapping and later murdering Patra.

“We have arrested two youths from the locality. They have pleaded guilty and said they kidnapped the boy to demand ransom from his father,” the officer said.

According to the police, the accused claimed that they had no intention of killing Patra, but the boy stopped breathing after they pushed a large piece of cloth in his mouth to gag him.

The two would be produced in a court.

The family members of the deceased said they had no enmity with the accused.