Human skull, bones found near riverbank in Odisha’s Bolangir

Police recovered a human skull, severed leg, bones and clothing on Sunday from the banks of Suktel River under Larambha police limits in Odisha’s Bolangir, triggering panic in nearby villages. The remains were found near Kadopani village in the district.

Also Read: Human skeleton in Bhubaneswar forest sparks foul play suspicion

According to sources, a local woman resident named Sarojini Bariha first noticed a severed leg in front of her house in Hirli village in the morning. Later, villagers spotted a human skull and other bones along the nearby Suktel Riverbank and alerted police.

Though identity of the person whose skeletal remains were spotted is yet to be confirmed, police suspect they may belong to a 12-year-old boy, Ghanshyam Bariha of Kadopani village, who went missing on the 2nd of this month. He was reportedly abducted from the same riverbank area by two unidentified men on a motorcycle while he was with friends.

Following the discovery, police and a scientific forensic team reached the spot and launched a detailed investigation. Locals suspect foul play, alleging the minor boy may have been killed and the body concealed. Officials said further examination and forensic tests are underway to establish the identity and cause of the alleged murder.

“I woke up in the morning and was about to go out, when I noticed that some puppies were biting and playing with a piece of bone (severed leg). I immediately alerted my husband and asked him to come to the spot to ascertain the skeletal remain,” Sarojini Bariha said.

“He came to verify the bone and told it looked like a foot. We, then, alerted a woman neighbour who was brushing her teeth, and she rushed to the spot. Again, we alerted a male neighbour who was on his rooftop to dry paddy,” Sarojini narrated to OTV.

“Gradually, several persons congregated and ascertained it to be a foot. Since a minor boy is missing, we believe it to be his skeletal remains,” the elderly woman added.