13-year-old found dead in Anakapalle district

Visakhapatnam: A 13-year-old boy was found dead under suspicious circumstances, with an injury to his chest, at Etikoppaka under Elamanchili rural police station limits in Anakapalle district on Sunday. The deceased was identified as A Kaushik, a Class VI student and a resident of Etikoppaka.Kaushik was initially found dead, lying in a pool of blood along with his bag and books near a canal on the outskirts of Etikoppaka on Sunday afternoon, around 3 pm, and a photo of Kaushik was circulated on a WhatsApp group in the village. When villagers reached the spot, the body was missing, and the bloodstains at the location were cleaned.Locals found Kaushik dead in bushes at another location after a 90-minute search, raising suspicion that the boy was murdered and that miscreants tried to destroy the evidence. As per reports, Kaushik was a native of Tuni in Kakinada district. Locals said he lost his father a few years ago and stayed with his uncle in Etikoppaka for schooling.Kaushik, along with his friends, went to the canal for a swim on Sunday, and he did not return home for lunch. He was found lifeless. Locals said Kaushik suffered a bullet injury to his chest after a country-made gun allegedly went off. They suspected a man involved in poaching wild animals with a country-made gun might have been involved in connection with Kaushik's death.The police reached the spot and called in the clues team to identify the suspects. The body was retrieved from the locality and shifted for the post-mortem. A special team was formed to solve the mystery behind the death of the boy.