Missing 3-year-old boy found dead in toilet

SRIKAKULAM: In a gruesome incident, a threeandhalfyear boy who was missing since Sunday evening was found dead in the toilet of a government primary school at AS Kaviti hamlet of Pathapatnam mandal in Srikakulam on Monday.Police suspect L Kranthi was strangled to death using a rope. According to the boy's mother Hemalatha, she left Kranthi to play with other children in the locality on Sunday and went inside the house for cooking. However, when she realised the boy had not returned home even at 8 pm, she went searching for him. "We had no clue as to where he went and after searching along with my husband Laxminarayana, we sought our neighbours' help us to search for our son," said Hemalatha. The couple who are agriculture labourers have two children Kranthi and a oneyearold baby.The villagers including relatives and friends divided themselves into small groups searched for the boy throughout the night before they discovered his body lying motionless in the toilet of the primary school. While the reasons behind the murder are yet to be ascertained, police suspect the boy was strangled to death using a rope."We identified the marks around Kranthi's neck and the apparent cause of death is strangulation using a tight rope. A case has been registered," Pathapatnam inspector incharge M Rambabu said.The boy's parents said they had no disputes with any relatives or villagers.