Bhubaneswar, April 20: In a shocking incident, a 16-year-old boy was found dead with a gunshot wound to the head during a late-night hunting trip in a forest in Odisha’s Kandhamal district. The deceased has been identified as Bibhuti Kanhar, a Class X student from Budani village under Kusumendi Panchayat.

Bibhuti had recently appeared for the matriculation examination at Ranapatuli High School under Khajuripada block. According to police sources, he had gone to a nearby forest, about one kilometre from his village, along with two others—Pratap Kahar (25) and Suman Bindhani (20)—around 9 pm on Saturday. The trio had informed their families that they would return by Sunday morning.

However, when they failed to return, worried family members launched a search and later found Bibhuti’s body lying in a pool of blood with a bullet injury to his head. The incident triggered panic, drawing hundreds of villagers to the spot.

Following a complaint lodged by Bibhuti’s father, police recovered the body and sent it for post-mortem. Pratap and Suman are currently absconding, and a manhunt has been launched. Police suspect a country-made gun carried by Pratap may be linked to the incident.

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