Body of 4-year-old found in Delhi's Kirti Nagar; death due to snake bite suspected

The body of a four-year-old boy was found inside a car parked near his house in west Delhi's Kirti Nagar area on Tuesday morning, police said, suspecting snake bite as the cause of death.

The deceased boy was identified as Ankush, a resident of Wadhwa camp, Kirti Nagar. His father works at a toy store while his mother is a housewife, they said.

No external injury was found on the body, except some bite marks near the toes, police said. The post-mortem report states that he was bitten by a "poisonous reptile", leading to his death, according to police.

Police said the boy went missing around 5 pm on Monday while he was playing in the vicinity of his house. After he did not return home, his family members started searching for him. They did not approach the police and continue with the search, but to no avail.

On Tuesday morning, some locals spotted the child lying motionless in the seat of an old car parked near his house. They took him out of the vehicle and informed his family, a senior police officer said. The boy had already died by the time he was taken out of the car.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (West) Deepak Purohit said, "We received a call at around 6.30 am about the body of a child lying inside a car parked in the Kirti Nagar area. Our team reached the spot and moved the body to a mortuary at Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital for post-mortem."

According to the autopsy report, the death may have occurred due to biting by some poisonous reptile or snake, he said.

Inquest proceedings have been initiated to find out if there is any foul play in the incident, he added.