BAHAWALNAGAR: The body parts of a minor boy, who had been missing for five days, were found in a sugarcane field near his house in Faqirwali area here on Monday noon.

According to locals, seven-year-old Muhammad Faizan, son of labourer Ali Hussain of Chak 137/6R, lef t his home to get candies from a nearby shop on July 21 at about 4pm.

However, the boy did not return home.

The victim`s family lodged a kidnapping case against unknown men with Faqirwali police on July 23 when they f ailed to find him af ter the 36-hour search, they added.

On Monday noon, the body of the boy was found in the nearby sugarcane held.

A family member of the deceased alleged that the boy was raped before being murdered. The body was in such a state that the victim`s f ather identified it by clothes and slippers, he added.

He said the incident could have been avoided if the police had taken the matter seriously but despite repeated requests, the police did nothing to recover the child.

SHO Faqirwali Pervez Akhtar did not attend calls or reply to text messages. The DPO`s spokesperson was also not available for comment.

A police official said the body parts were collected and sent to the hospital for autopsy. Correspondent