Missing boy found dead inside locked car in Madurai

Tamil Nadu: A seven-year-old boy who had been missing for two days was found dead inside a locked car in Melapatti village in Madurai district, police said on Saturday.

Hailing from Tirumangalam, he had arrived with his parents, Rajasekar and Kavitha, to attend a local temple festival.

According to police, the child, identified as Shanmugavel, was last seen on Thursday evening, when he went out to play but failed to return.

On Saturday night, a doctor visiting the village for a temple festival discovered the boy’s body in his SUV’s front passenger seat upon removing the car cover.

The vehicle was parked just 50 metres from his grandparents’ home. It is suspected that the child locked himself in by mistake while playing nearby.

The doctor reportedly parked the car on November 13 and noticed a foul smell inside only on Saturday, as he was preparing to leave for work.

Investigators noted that his fingerprints were found on the inside of the car’s windows, suggesting he attempted to call for help, according to a report by the New Indian Express.

According to the preliminary autopsy report, there were no external injuries on the child’s body.

Peraiyur police said that one of the children who had been playing with Shanmugavel on Thursday claimed that the boy was last seen near the parked vehicle.

The loudspeakers of the temple festival, which reverberated across the village, may have drowned out his cries for help, authorities believe.

Police have ruled out foul play. They believe the boy may have died from suffocation after being trapped in the car.

The boy’s body was handed over to his parents on Sunday after the post-mortem.