Initial probe has found the boy was beaten when he resisted ragging by inmates, including two majors, said Bareilly SSP Akash Kulhary. The police have registered a case of murder against the accused.
The SSP said that his body had injury marks. Since the autopsy could not ascertain the death cause, the viscera has been preserved for forensic analysis.
The superintendent of the observation home, Chhavinath Rai, has claimed that the boy had injury marks on his back and chest when he was brought there. “The details of injuries were entered in the register that bears signatures of constables who brought the boy,” he said.
District Magistrate Abhishek Prakash has ordered an inquiry into the death. It would be conducted by additional city magistrate-I Vandita Srivastava.
Meanwhile, the victim’s father, Bhoopram, has alleged that his son was initially beaten up by relatives of the girl who alleged rape and later by policemen before he was taken to the observation home.
Rai said that he did not know of any incident of ragging or attack on the boy in the observation home.