Patna: Family members and villagers on Monday staged a protest and blocked the Chandi Bazaar road in Nalanda district for around 30 minutes after the body of a 20-year-old youth, missing for the past three days, was found in a mutilated condition.The deceased was identified as Rohit Kumar (20), a scrap dealer. His body was recovered from bushes behind Bapu High School in the Tari Par area on Sunday evening, barely 200 metres from his home in Chandi Deeh village under same police station.The protesters demanded a fair investigation and the arrest of those responsible. Traffic was diverted through an alternative route during the blockade, which was lifted after police assured the villagers of appropriate action.Rohit’s elder brother, Rajkishore Chaudhary, alleged that the body appeared to have been badly damaged by acid or some other chemical. “The face and body were almost decomposed, with bones visible,” he said.He further claimed that the victim’s right hand had been severed, allegedly to prevent identification, and that the head was found without hair. According to him, Rohit’s name was tattooed or written on one of his hands.Rajkishore said Rohit left home between 1.30pm and 2pm on Aug 13 after returning from work with his associate, Kallu Paswan. The family alleged the two had consumed drugs and that Rohit failed to return home thereafter.A missing-person complaint was lodged at Chandi police station on Aug 14, about a day after Rohit went missing. The family said it had expressed suspicion about Rohit’s associate and has since approached the Nalanda superintendent of police, alleging inadequate police response and seeking justice.However, police have not ruled out other possibilities. Chandi SHO Akhilesh Kumar Jha said Rohit was allegedly addicted to drugs and injectable substances and that an overdose could have led to his death.Regarding the missing hand and the body’s condition, the SHO said the remains had undergone advanced decomposition and could have been damaged by wild animals.“The exact cause of death will be known only after the post-mortem report is received,” Jha said, adding that police are probing all angles, including murder, drug overdose and the possible use of chemicals to damage the body.
