Madurai : A seven-year-old boy who went missing while playing near his house at Thaniyamangalam near Melur on Sunday was found dead in an abandoned building barely 50m from his residence on Monday morning.
A 40-member police team launched a search on Sunday but could not trace him. Police were examining all possibilities, including the boy’s reported history of epilepsy.
Police, however, rejected the allegations and said they found no external injuries. Rejecting allegations of murder and abuse based on preliminary examination, a senior police officer told TOI that no injury marks had been found. “The exact cause of death can be established only after the postmortem report,” the officer said.
Muthuvelan’s death raised suspicions among relatives, who alleged foul play. Muthuvelan was the youngest of three children of Periakaruppan and Sathya. he lived with his mother and two sisters at Thaniyamangalam near Keelavalavu While his father works abroad. He studied at a private school in Vellaloor. His mother and relatives searched the neighbourhood before lodging a missing-person complaint with Keelavalavu police. Madurai superintendent of police N Devanathan inspected the scene as forensic experts and a sniffer dog were deployed.
Police said the boy went out to play on Sunday but failed to return home. The operation resumed on Monday with drone assistance, leading to the discovery of his body inside an abandoned house belonging to Rajangam.
The body was sent to Government Rajaji Hospital for an autopsy. Police subsequently altered the missing-person case to one of suspicious death.