A nine-year-old boy who went missing from Allolli village in Sedam taluk of Kalaburagi district on Sunday evening was found dead in a well on Monday morning leading to his family suspecting foul play in his death.

 The deceased has been identified as Nithin Rajendra of Allolli village.

 According to family members, Nithin was last seen near his house at around 5 p.m. on Sunday. With Moharram-related festivities, including the installation of a Pir (deity), under way in the village, his parents initially assumed he was playing nearby with his friends.

When he did not return home even after 9 p.m., the family searched the village and later contacted the emergency helpline 112. Police visited the spot and a missing person complaint was filed at the Sedam Police Station.

Search operations continued through the night, including near a stream and a well on the outskirts of the village. The family said that they searched the area until about 2 a.m. without finding any trace of the boy.

On Monday morning, around 6 a.m., family members returned to the well and found the boy’s clothes and a bedsheet nearby. The body was later seen floating in the well.

The family said that these items were not present during the search earlier and suspected that the boy may have been killed elsewhere and dumped in the well.

The police, who have registered a case, shifted the body to the Government Hospital in Kalaburagi for post-mortem.

Officials said that the exact cause of death will be ascertained after the autopsy report comes and investigation is completed.