Bhubaneswar: Villagers staged a protest on Sunday after an 11-year-old boy went missing five days ago from Ratanpur village under Delanga block in Puri district.
The missing child has been identified as Ashirbad Sahoo.
According to family members, the boy was last seen on April 16 playing near his house. Since then, there has been no trace of his whereabouts.
Despite lodging a formal complaint and making repeated appeals to the police, the boy’s family alleges that there has been little progress in the investigation.
Frustrated by the lack of results, villagers gathered in large numbers and staged a protest, urging the police to intensify search operations and trace the missing child.
“The police keep assuring us, but it has been five days. Where is my child? I am pleading with the police—please find him,” said Kadambini Sahoo, the boy’s mother, breaking down in front of reporters.
Speaking to the media, Puri SP (Junior Administrative Grade) Vinit Agrawal said, “A dog squad and a scientific team have been deployed to assist in the search. We are also taking help from the fire services and conducting a technical investigation. CCTV footage is being verified. We are doing everything possible to locate the child at the earliest.”
He further added that the family’s statement has been recorded and that the investigation is underway.
However, villagers remain unconvinced. “The progress of the investigation has been unsatisfactory. Not a single clue has emerged in five days. We are demanding that the case be handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI),” said Dusmanta Kumar Das, a resident of Ratanpur.
