Janakpurdham, March 20

A five-year-old was found dead 24 hours after he went missing in Bega of Janakpur Sub-metropolitan city in Dhanusha today morning.

The victim has been identified as Asaraf Ali, son of Asalam Rain.

The body was found in a wheat filed near the house today morning, according to District Police Office, Dhanusha. Asaraf had disappeared while playing in front of his house yesterday morning.

Preliminary investigation shows that the body could have been dumped there after the boy was murdered. “As there are bruises on the body it seems he might have been strangled.

However, we can confidently tell the reason only after the post-mortem report is out,” said DPO Dhanusha spokesperson DSP Nakul Pokhrel.

Asalam is employed in Qatar. With the death of her son, Apasana Khatun, the mother has gone into a semi-conscious state.

According to police involved in the investigation, neighbours or their kin could have a hand in the murder.