12-Year-Old's Remains Found With Face Crushed, Body Burned With Acid; Revenge Killing Suspected

A 12-year-old boy in India was found brutally murdered Sunday with his face crushed and upper body burned with acid.

The police, after conducting an initial probe, believe that the minor who went missing Friday was murdered by his distant relatives to exact revenge against the victim's family. The child's body that had injuries all over was discovered from a field in a village near Agra, a city in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, The Times of India reported.

“(The) face of the child was crushed with bricks. And the upper body part was burned with acid,” the person who spotted the body told the outlet.

The boy's maternal uncle had allegedly killed his wife and the deceased woman's family supposedly avenged her death by targeting the child, said police.

The authorities have not revealed the identity of the victim and are awaiting an autopsy report to determine the exact cause of the child's death, Times Now News reported.

Based on a complaint filed by the child's mother, the police have registered a case against three relatives and two unknown people on charges of kidnapping and murder. One of the accused has been arrested.

“Initial investigation revealed that the brother of the child's mother had earlier murdered his wife. The child was targeted to take revenge. One of the accused has been arrested. He is being interrogated to get more details. A special team has been constituted to arrest the other two accused," Superintendent of Police Manoj Kumar Sonkar told The Times of India.

A similar case of "revenge" crime was reported earlier this month in India. A 16-year-old girl was allegedly held captive and raped by eight members of a family "to teach her family a lesson," after the victim's brother eloped with their kin. The teen was reportedly thrashed and raped for a week by the missing woman's father, brothers and uncles in Moradabad, a city in Uttar Pradesh. Police registered a case against the accused men under charges including gang rape, wrongful confinement and criminal intimidation.