JAIPUR: Authorities strained every nerve to track down the body of a four-year-old boy who was allegedly murdered by his relatives and buried on secluded land six years ago, where the Delhi–Mumbai Expressway has now come up. Police carried out excavation with the help of local authorities and the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) in search of Prince alias Tillu, who went missing in 2020.Police identified the accused as Anil Bairwa (25) and his sister Krishna (27), relatives of the boy. Police told TOI that the two were arrested two weeks ago and were sent to judicial custody Thursday.Police said Anil and Krishna were related to Prince, but the two families were at loggerheads for a long time over a prolonged dispute. Investigators suspected the killing was linked to the feud between the families.“Primary probe showed that Krishna attacked Prince with a sharp object, and the duo later disposed of his body by burying it in a secluded field on the outskirts of their village,” an official said. He added that over the past six years, the expressway was constructed on the same land, making the process of discovering the body difficult for investigators.Sources said the search operation was under way for more than 12 days, with the help of a Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) machine used to identify possible points where the boy’s remains could be found. Based on the GPR assessment and the statements of the two suspects, authorities began excavation of a few earmarked stretches of the expressway from March 1, but without success so far.“We will begin the excavation work again in two days. There are about three different possible stretches where we suspect the remains could be found,” an official said.Police said the missing person case turned into a murder investigation after renewed scrutiny and developments in the probe. The accused were arrested recently, and investigators are trying to recover the mortal remains.The excavation work was halted for two days, but police remained deployed at the site round the clock. Due to excavation on the highway, it impacted traffic for a short distance on the expressway.
