Patna: The body of a 16-year-old boy was recovered from Sokhodevara-Shivpur Dam in Nawada’s Kawakol block on Saturday evening, nearly 24 hours after he was reported missing. While police initially suspected drowning, the boy’s father alleged that his son was murdered and his body dumped in the water.The boy, identified as Rakesh Kumar, son of Sunil Kumar Das, went missing on Friday afternoon. His body was recovered after a joint search operation by police and an SDRF team and was sent to Nawada Sadar Hospital for post-mortem on Sunday.According to Sunil Kumar Das, Rakesh had lunch at home around 2.30pm on Friday before leaving for a place about 500 metres away. “Around 4pm, we received information that he had drowned in the dam,” he said.The father, however, disputed the drowning theory. He alleged that Rakesh had been in contact with a girl for nearly six months and had received a call from her on Friday. Das claimed that he had answered the call and that five youths later took his son away.He suspects that the youths killed Rakesh and dumped his body in the dam. The father also referred to an alleged assault on his son around three months ago and claimed that Rakesh had received threats earlier.Police said the allegations were being investigated but have not independently verified the claims.Kawakol SHO Anil Kumar Singh said police were probing both the drowning and murder angles. “The father’s allegations are also being investigated. Five people have been detained for questioning. An FIR has been registered based on the father’s complaint,” he said.Singh said a team of doctors had been assigned to conduct the post-mortem, which will be videographed. The exact cause of death will be determined after the post-mortem report and further investigation, he added.
