Daijiworld Media Network - Beltangady

Beltangady, Jan 14: A Class 9 student who had left home to attend Dhanu pooja was found dead under mysterious circumstances on Wednesday morning, January 14, near Baramelu at Sambolya in Kuvettu gram panchayat limits.

The deceased has been identified as Sumanth (16), son of Subrahmanya Nayak, a class 9 student of Gerukatte government high school.

Sumanth used to go for Dhanu pooja daily along with his friends. When he did not return home on Wednesday and failed to join his friends, they informed the family, following which a search was launched. During the search, blood stains were found near a pond in a plantation area where the boy was last seen.

As the area is known for leopard movement, suspicion and fear prevailed, prompting an intensified search operation.

Beltangady police, forest officials from the Beltangady range and personnel of the fire and emergency services rushed to the spot and conducted a search, during which the boy’s body was found in the pond. Police have registered a case and taken up further investigation.

On receiving information about the incident, hundreds of local residents gathered at the site.