Puri: The body of 11-year-old boy Ashirbad Sahoo, who had been missing, was found inside a septic tank at Ratanpur village under Delanga police limits in Odisha’s Puri district today.

The deceased was last seen playing near his home on April 15. When he did not return, his family filed a missing complaint at the Delanga police station.

During the investigation, police detained Prabhakar Sahoo, Ashirbad's relative uncle, for questioning. Though he was initially released, police kept him under surveillance. On Sunday night, he was rearrested from a roadside eatery.

During further interrogation, he reportedly confessed to killing the boy. Based on his statement, police recovered Ashirbad’s body from the septic tank.

Police suspect that the murder may have stemmed from past enmity, though the exact motive is yet to be confirmed.

On the other hand, the irate villagers ransacked the house of the accused this morning.

"Prima facie, it appears that the accused had enmity against the deceased's father, which might have driven him to kill the child. The post-mortem report is awaited. We are probing all angles in the case to ascertain further details," said Puri SP Vinit Agrawal.