Preliminary investigations into the mysterious death of Vedant Manmode, a student at Asaram Bapu’s gurukul in Chhindwara, suggest that the 5-year-old was murdered, the police said.

“We suspect foul play as the autopsy report suggests that Vedant didn’t die of natural causes,” police sources told The Sunday Express.

Vedant’s autopsy, conducted by a team led by Chandrashekhar Jain, a specialist from Bhopal’s Medico Legal Institute, revealed that there were external injury marks on the body. However, the police on Saturday chose to remain silent since they had not received the viscera test reports from Sagar’s forensic science laboratory.

“Though we are 80 per cent sure that the boy was forced by somebody to stay under water and died of asphyxia we are not going to press for a murder charge till we are absolutely sure,” sources said. “The case is also of a very “sensitive” nature due to the involvement of a religious leader.”

“We have also raised a few queries about the preliminary autopsy report of Yadav,” DIG (Chhindwara Range) K T Veiphei said. The authorities had given a clean chit to the ashram after Yadav’s death but launched a massive probe when Vedant’s body was recovered within 48 hours, in almost similar circumstances.

The police questioned about 150 persons, including gurukul employees and boys residing at the Ashram who had easy access to the younger boys’ bathroom.