Noida: A 13-year-old boy who went missing on Aug 16 after leaving home to play with friends was found dead in a park in Sector 54, police said. His family alleged that the boy had suffered multiple knife wounds and that both his hands had been chopped off. However, the autopsy report does not mention any external injuries on the body.Police have detained a 16-year-old boy in connection with the case and formed a team to trace another suspect, also a minor. The viscera have been preserved for further investigation.The boy had moved with his family to Sector 20 a few months ago but frequently visited his previous neighbourhood in Sector 12/22 to meet friends, police said. His mother, a nurse at a hospital in Sector 104, said he left home on Aug 16 with a friend who had come to invite him to a birthday party.“My son left home saying he would attend a birthday party and return home quickly,” she said.When he did not return by late that night, his mother went to the friend’s house to enquire about him. She alleged that the family there told her they had no information about the boy.The mother also alleged that when she approached Sector 12/22 police outpost, personnel refused to register her complaint and told her the boy might have consumed drugs or intoxicants and would return after their effects wore off.Police sources told TOI the boy had a history of drug abuse and had left home previously. They also said the boy and some of his friends had allegedly been involved in theft cases. It was not immediately clear whether any cases had been registered against him.The mother said she approached Sector 24 police station after her son failed to return the next day. A written complaint under BNS Section 137(2) (kidnapping) was eventually registered on Aug 24.According to police, the decomposed body of a minor was found by visitors in a park in Sector 54 on Aug 21, five days after the boy went missing. It was identified on Tuesday after his mother recognised a thread tied around his wrist. An FIR for murder was subsequently registered.The mother alleged that the body bore knife wounds and that his hands had been severed. “He is my only son. How could they do this to him?” she said.Police said the autopsy report did not mention any external injuries. A senior officer said viscera had been preserved and would be examined as part of the investigation.Following identification of the body, the family and relatives gathered at the mortuary and demanded strict action against those responsible. They also demanded that the accused be subjected to an encounter and initially refused to allow the last rites. Police officials reached the spot and tried to pacify the family, but relatives continued their protest late into the night.Police said the 16-year-old suspect has been taken into custody and efforts are underway to apprehend the second juvenile allegedly involved in the case.
