The Hooghly rural police on Sunday morning recovered the body of a four-year-old boy from a prominent Hooghly family, who had gone missing on Saturday.
His grandfather discovered the child's body inside the family’s bathroom in Guptipara village of Balagarh police station area.
Following an initial investigation suggesting the boy had been murdered, the police immediately detained grandfather Shambhu Saha, grandmother Chaina Saha, and aunt Tumpa Saha, on suspicion of their involvement in the crime.
"We have detained the trio as there is sufficient evidence to suspect their involvement. We are interrogating them further,” said Hooghly police chief Kamanasish Sen.
On Saturday, the police received a missing complaint from Jadab Saha, who reported that his four-year-old son, Swarnava, had gone missing in the morning.
Frantic searches for six hours yielded no result.
Acting promptly, the police deployed drones to scan nearby water bodies and bushes and brought in a sniffer dog to assist in the search.
However, the boy could not be traced.
A senior police officer in Balagarh claimed that preliminary findings suggest the murder stemmed from a longstanding property dispute between the boy’s father and grandfather.
"The bathroom was used by several people of the family and a female constable stationed to guard the house on Saturday night. Yet, it was only the grandfather who discovered the body. This raises strong suspicions of his involvement,” said the police officer.
Local residents confirmed that the family’s property dispute was well-known in the area, as the members of the Saha clan frequently engaged in public quarrels.
The boy’s father, Jadab, had reportedly stopped communicating with his parents a month earlier due to the property-related tension.
"We were shocked when the boy went missing. Now, with his body found in the bathroom, we suspect it may have been hidden by a family member only,” said a resident.