A four-year-old boy was found dead in Gokanapeta village of N.P. Kunta mandal in Sri Sathya Sai district, on Thursday. According to the police, the boy was reportedly kidnapped from his anganwadi on Wednesday evening by a close relative and allegedly killed.
Speaking to the media, Superintendent of Police (SP) S. Satish Kumar said that after the boy, Harshavardhan, went missing, his parents filed a police complaint on Wednesday night. Half-a-dozen search parties were formed to trace the missing child. However, police found the child’s body early on Thursday at the village outskirts. The SP said that the boy was found to have been strangulated to death.
The accused, Prasad, was a close relative of the child’s father Gangadhar. A strained financial relationship between the two families may have triggered the crime, the police said. Prasad’s son had been suffering from terminal cancer, and Gangadhar had been supporting the family financially for some time. As the burden became heavy and Gangadhar could no longer continue the assistance, Prasad allegedly developed a grudge against Gangadhar, the SP said.
Forensic teams examined the spot and the body was shifted for post-mortem. The SP said that a search party was formed to track down Prasad. “The missing case has been altered to murder,” Mr. Satish Kumar said.
Published – November 27, 2025 08:31 pm IST
