Overview
- Police recovered the body of 17-year-old Abhiram in a sack among banana plants in Pangappara after he was reported missing on Sunday and identified him through local inquiries on Monday.
- Investigators say a recovered Instagram conversation suggests a message from a girl’s account lured Abhiram to the spot and that the account may have been created by a friend with a rival interest.
- Preliminary police examination indicates death by strangulation; a formal post-mortem and further forensic analysis are pending to fix time and exact cause of death.
- Three people have been taken into custody, including two minors and a man named Umar who is accused of helping dispose of the body, and relatives staged protests accusing police of slow action on the missing-person complaint.
- Officials are verifying social-media evidence and tower and CCTV data while the case raises juvenile-justice and community policing questions as the probe continues.