A 15-year-old boy, Irfan, was reported missing even as the frantic search taken up by the police and the boy's relatives yielded no result on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, his cell phone retained by his friend led to a new lead that he got drowned while bathing in the Krishna river.
As the story of bathing was initially suppressed, the police along with the boy's relatives took up a vigorous search in the river near the Kanaka Durga Varadhi. The search was taken up at Sitammavari Padalu, Sitanagaram area and other places but to no avail. Krishna Lanka CI G. Srinivasa Rao led the police team in the search operation.
Initially, rumours spread that it was a murder, but another story came up later. Irfan's friends told the police that they became afraid of telling his family about his drowning. According to the police, Irfan was a school dropout and was living with his br
other Md. Ramjan, who migrated from Rajasthan 10 years ago and was living in Ranigari Thota in Krishna Lanka area. They were workers engaged in house ceiling and the boy was also joining them in the work. Irfan along with three or four of his friends went out to watch a Telugu film on October 15 but they did not get the tickets. Then they reached the river for bathing. As Irfan did not know how to swim, he lost control and slipped into the river. His friends turned panicky and tried to help him but they could not save him. Afraid of facing the anger of the boy's relatives, the friends buried his clothes nearby and went home.
One of Irfan's friends took his cell phone and kept it with him. When the boy's relatives gave a call to the cell phone, it rang and they got doubts whether the boy was kidnapped and killed. Investigation by the police revealed that the friends had kept silent after the boy drowned in the river.
