The boy was discovered on December 15 on a food pushcart near the Villupuram-Chennai Highway. Preliminary cause of death has been ruled “natural” and “due to illness”. Efforts to establish his identity are still ongoing
A five-year-old boy who was found dead lying on a roadside food pushcart near the Villupuram-Chennai highway is yet to be identified. Villupuram West police have ruled out death by starvation or dehydration as earlier reports have suggested. Last week, on December 15, the child was discovered lying on a piece of cloth on the push cart.
Speaking to TNM, the inspector of Villupuram West police station says that the boy was already dead when he was laid out on the cart. “The child died due to natural caused following an illness. Early postmortem reports have revealed. Further forensic evidence is being gathered to ascertain what he was ailing from. He was also wearing a “thaayam”—talisman used commonly in the belief that it will heal an illness.” The inspector also says that preliminary investigation “does not reveal any external or internal injuries nor were there any signs of abuse.”
Citing the boy’s age, the inspector further added that he would not have stayed put on the pushcart had he been alive when he was laid there. “Whoever left him there, brought him dead. Why his body was abandoned, we can only find out after identifying him,” said the inspector.
A case has been filed under section 174 (suspicious death) and attempts to identify the boy’s parents are ongoing.
The police had earlier told The Hindu that the boy’s photos have been circulated among WhatsApp groups of teachers and anganwadi workers across Tamil Nadu. The police reportedly also said that they have gone through the footage from CCTV cameras in the vicinity, but that nothing conclusive has emerged.
Source: The News Minute