2 min readBhopalApr 22, 2026 10:33 PM IST
An 11-year-old boy was killed and his body hidden in a blue plastic drum in Satna, Madhya Pradesh, on Monday, allegedly by a neighbour angered by his mother’s refusal to marry him after years of pressure.
Shivraj Rajak, a Class 5 student known as Badal, was found with his throat slit inside his home after police broke open the door following a missing child report. The accused, Mathura Rajak, 45, who ran a nearby ironing shop, was arrested the next evening after locking his home and shop and switching off his phone.
Shivraj’s father, a labourer in Nashik, was away at the time.
The family said they had faced persistent pressure, threats and a confrontation a day before the murder. Asha had again refused Mathura, leading to a scuffle that locals broke up and warned him against. Investigators believe the “confrontation and its witnesses pushed him to act”.
On the morning of the murder, Shivraj was alone at home. Asha left for work at 6 am; his elder brother left around 10 am, and his sister Sejal stepped out to look for work.
Police said Mathura used this window, entering around 10:30 am. When the family returned that afternoon, they found the house locked from outside but otherwise undisturbed.
The child’s absence raised the alarm. Sejal assumed he was with their mother, and Asha thought he was with his sister, until phone calls clarified the confusion.
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On returning, Asha noticed the lights and fan were on but the house was locked. She alerted police, who broke open the door.
Inside, they found bloodstains on the bed and wall, and Shivraj’s body concealed in a blue plastic drum. “The victim’s throat had been slit with a sharp weapon. Forensic and fingerprint teams examined the scene. The accused was later arrested after being tracked by three teams,” a senior police officer said.
“That man had been pressuring me for marriage for a long time. I refused him. I never imagined he would do something like this to my child,” Asha said.
