Police say a 32-year-old man, who allegedly had an illicit relationship with the boy’s mother, could be behind the murder “as he has been absconding since the day the deceased was reported missing”.

Police suspect the accused, Pappu, killed the boy, Maha Bali Singh, “because he was a hindrance to his love affair”.

According to police, Maha Bali’s body was found near Sukhi Nehar on Monday night. Following investigations, the police found that Maha Bali’s parents had already registered a missing complaint.

“The victim’s father, Sheetal Singh, said his wife had an illicit relationship with their neighbour, Pappu. When we went to his house, we found that he had not returned there since Sunday,” a senior police officer said.

Police said Sheetal, his wife, Tanuja, and Pappu earlier resided together. There, Tanuja and Pappu allegedly developed an illicit relationship.

Sheetal and Tanuja later moved to Prem Nagar in Aman Vihar with their family but Pappu followed them and stayed in the neighbouring house, police said.

“Sheetal came to know about his wife’s relationship and had a fight with her. He went and confronted Pappu and told him that he was no longer welcome in the Singh household,” a police officer said.

Police said Sheetal had instructed Maha Bali not to go out of the house. Police suspect this angered Pappu “as he became a hindrance to their love affair”.

On Sunday night, Pappu could have lured Maha Bali to his house, murdered him and abandoned him in the fields, police said. A murder case has been registered in Aman Vihar Police Station and investigations are on.