The body of seven-year-old Sarim, who had been missing for 11 days, was discovered near his home in a water tank in North Karachi on Saturday, rescue officials and family said.

“We had checked the underground tank from Sarim’s body was found. There was no clue of the child in it,” one of the society members told Aaj News.

The minor went missing after coming from madressah on January 7, according to the police complaint. The family believes the boy was abducted.

His picture with the missing note was shared by many users on social media over the last many days. Earlier this week, Sindh Governor Kamran Tessori also went to the victim’s family to console and assure them of recovery in the case.

“When Sarim was abducted, we, along with the police, had started our investigation. Society members had searched all flats, water tanks, terrace, and underground tanks, but there was no sign of the boy,” the society member said.

He claimed that the minor was abducted when lights suddenly went out and after 30 minutes there was a shout for the missing boy. The society member alleged the body was also found in a similar circumstance.

“We had told watchmen to check every vehicle’s boot at the entrance,” he said and added that the watchmen were unaware of the body in the water tank despite doing their duty.

When asked, the society member said that there was no backup of the CCTV camera as they did not expect the light would suddenly go out.

“The body is around two to three days old,” a rescue official told Aaj News. “When we entered the water tank, we saw that the child was sitting as if someone had placed him there. Parts of his skin were peeled off.”

One of the aunts of the victim accused the police of harassing them, alleging that the latter had been tracing their phone.

“Police are only investigating our family, asking why there was a divorce, why he had a child, and what the connection with Sarim was,” she said and claimed that police repeatedly summoned male family members and their phones were tapped.

Another relative demanded that the police should have closed the society gate when the child was abducted and investigated every home.

But police claimed that search efforts had been ongoing for the boy.

A piece of cardboard was placed over the opening of the water tank, they said and added that investigations were underway to “determine whether the child fell in accidentally or was thrown in.”

The deceased’s mother was “devastated” upon seeing her son’s body.

Many residents noted that law enforcement agencies had checked the underground tank twice, suggesting that the body may have risen to the surface over time.

There appeared to be no signs of abuse on the child, they said as the victim was found in the same clothes he was wearing when he went missing. The body has been transferred to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital following police procedures.

“It remains to be determined whether the child was thrown into the tank after being killed or if it was an accident,” SSP Anil Haider told reporters. “Conclusive information will only be available after the post-mortem report.”

Multiple signs of injury found on body: police surgeon

Multiple signs of injury were found on the child’s body during the post-mortem examination, according police surgeon Dr Summaiya Syed.

“All necessary samples were collected during the autopsy and the definitive cause of death will be determined once the chemical examination report is available,” she said.

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The child’s parents had also received a “ransom message” prior to the discovery of the body, sources within the family said.

In Karachi, incidents of child abduction and disappearances have increased in the recent past. Last year, 700 children were reported missing, with 20 still unaccounted for. The majority of such cases involve boys.

The head of the ‘Roshni’ NGO, which works on issues related to missing children, emphasised that FIRs for missing children should be filed on a priority basis. Children over the age of 12 were considered to be at the highest risk, the head added.