Puri: The accused in the sensational murder case of an 11-year-old boy from Ratanpur village under Delang police station in Puri district has been arrested.
Puri SP Vinit Agarwal, addressing a press conference on Tuesday, identified the accused as Prabhakar Sahoo, alias Bapi, a 38-year-old resident of Badpari village under Tangi police station in neighbouring Khordha district. Sahoo, who lived in Ratanpur, allegedly sexually assaulted the minor before killing him.
According to SP Agarwal, the minor boy, Asirbad Behera, was lured by Sahoo with Rs 100 to buy a tennis ball. After sexually assaulting the boy, Sahoo refused to pay him additional money. When the boy threatened to tell his family, Sahoo gagged him, strangled him, and threw him in a septic tank. The boy’s clothes were found in another tank 100 meters away, the SP said.
“A scientific team is investigating further, and it remains unclear whether the boy was alive when thrown into the septic tank, pending the postmortem report,” the SP said.
The police have seized Sahoo’s mobile phone, gloves, T-shirt, bicycle, and a knife. He will be tried in a POCSO court, with the police preparing a charge sheet to ensure maximum punishment. Agarwal added that the situation in Ratanpur is now stable, and villagers have cooperated with the investigation. He also stated that if others are found to be involved, they will be arrested.
Asirbad Behera went missing on April 15 at around 6:45 pm while playing near his house. His family lodged a complaint with the Delang police station. His body was recovered from a septic tank on April 21, six days after he went missing. The incident caused widespread outrage across the State.
