GAYA JI, Aug. 17 -- The body of a nine-year-old boy, missing since Friday evening, was found in the Mohane river in Gaya on Sunday, police said. Aniket Kumar, a Class 1 student and son of widow Durgawati Devi of Basatpur village under Bodh Gaya police station, had gone out to play on Friday evening but did not return home, police said. Family members, meanwhile, suspected that the boy was murdered, citing deep head injuries and severe blows to his face. "It appears that he was killed by suffocation and strangulation," his cousin Santosh Kumar Gautam said. After Aniket failed to return home and nearby CCTV footage showed him leaving the village, his mother lodged a missing report at Bodh Gaya police station on Saturday. Gaya Superintendent of Police (SSP) Sushil Kumar formed a special investigation team (SIT), headed by City SP Abhinav Kumar, along with Bodh Gaya Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Madhu Kumari and Station House Officer (SHO) Manoj Kumar. Dog squad, forensic and technical teams were also deployed to trace the boy. His body was found in the river, around 500 metres from his house, on Sunday. City SP Kumar said the body was bloated as it had remained in the water for more than 24 hours. However, the family and forensic science laboratory (FSL) team suspected foul play. The body was sent for postmortem examination. "The exact cause of death will be clear only after the postmortem report is received. A thorough investigation into all aspects of the case is currently underway," he said....