Siraha, October 23

The headless body of a 12-year-old boy was found hidden in bushes on the banks of the Kamala River in Siraha, yesterday.

Police identified the victim as Bhabesh Yadav, 12, the son of Kusum Lal Yadav of Bandipur, Karjanha Municipality-2, Siraha.

The minor had gone missing on Friday.

The decapitated body of Bhabesh was discovered only after his family reported to police about the slippers that were found on the banks of the river.

The slippers were found by Bhabesh’s sister while grazing buffaloes on the river banks. Though the body was found yesterday evening, the severed head was found in a bush some five metres away from the incident site today morning, police said.

Kusumlal said they had launched a search operation for his son as the minor did not return home after he went to bathe in the Kamala River with Ajay Sah on Friday.

Ajay, who had accompanied Bhabesh to the river to bathe, said that Bhabesh asked him to go home alone as Bhabesh had met an unknown man while returning home after bathing.

The body has been kept at Ram Kumar Uma Prasad Memorial Hospital in Lahan for post-mortem. An investigation is under way, police said.

Sashi Bhusan Prasad Sah, 35, of the locality,was murdered at Prayagpur Chowk in Karjanha Municipality-10 about two weeks back in the district.