The police said Yash, a resident of Howrah Maidan, was strangulated to death.

Tension prevailed near the victim’s residence after the body was recovered. Locals damaged seven private buses to protest the police failure to nab the culprits. Residents also blocked a portion of G T Road for hours while traders shut shops.

The body of Yash, who was a Class II student of MC Kejriwal School, was first spotted by some slum-dwellers who informed the police. There were blood stains on his face and strangulation marks. The body has been sent to the Howrah District General Hospital for an autopsy.

Yash was the only son of Anil Lakhotia, a Howrah-based builder and owner of a sweet shop in Howrah Maidan.

A senior officer said the police suspect the boy was killed by someone who was close to the family. The police believe the miscreants had kept the victim hostage in the same area and killed him early on Saturday.

The police detained Ganesh Chaudhury, an employee of the Lakhotias, who said during interrogation that a scuffle had broken out between Lokhatia and Santosh Singh, an employee of Lakhotia’s elder brother, Nandu, over salary payment.

A week ago, Singh had even threatened the family of revenge. Superintendent of Police, Howrah, Niraj Kumar Singh said they suspect that Singh is involved in the murder.

Singh, now at large, was arrested in 2001 for attempting to kill a businessman in Shibpur. He is also allegedly wanted in two abduction cases in Bihar.