MADURAI
The body of a 13-year-old boy, R. Jayasurya, who went missing after falling into the Vaigai at Azhwarpuram here on December 7, was fished out from the riverbed at Silaiman on Wednesday.
A cattle herder noticed the body lying amid water hyacinth in the riverbed opposite Silaiman police station. The water released in the river from Vaigai dam to replenish groundwater table in Sivaganga and Ramanathapuram districts had forced the body to travel some 10 km.
Despite laborious efforts taken by Fire and Rescue Services personnel and the use of a drone by the district administration, the officials could not rescue the boy or locate his body.
“The body was stuck below bushes and water hyacinth. Now that the water release has been stopped and the water has drained, the body came out on the dry riverbed,” a fire service officer said.
Police said the family members of the missing body identified the body with his dress and a silver chain around his waist. Meanwhile, the police have taken efforts to scientifically identify the body. The body was taken to Government Rajaji Hospital.
Mathichiyam police had registered a case of boy missing. The mother of missing boy, Rukmini, had filed a habeas corpus petition in the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court.
The boy, who had come to the house of a relative, slipped into the river while attempting to take selfies with a mobile phone.
