A pall of gloom hangs over Kundri village in Palamu’s Lesliganj police station area following the recovery of an eight-year-old boy’s body from a village well. Vivek Kumar Verma, who had been missing for two days, was identified as the victim. His family’s immediate suspicion of murder has escalated into significant unrest among the villagers. Authorities are treating the case as an accidental drowning pending forensic reports, but the community is pushing back, demanding a thorough investigation into a potential homicide. The grim discovery was made by villagers who noticed the body floating in the well on Wednesday morning. Upon notification, police responded but were met with a firm stance from the residents. They refused to permit the removal of the body, insisting on a high-level inquiry, citing strong beliefs of a planned killing. The villagers have declared their refusal to allow any post-mortem or further police investigation until their demand for a comprehensive probe is addressed. Efforts by police officials to calm the situation and initiate legal formalities are ongoing, but the villagers remain resolute. The station house officer noted the presence of multiple wells at ground level near the site and the discovery of a kite, speculating that the child might have slipped while trying to retrieve it and tragically drowned.
