Wahumkhrah case: Scar helps mother identify teen son’s body

SHILLONG, July 2: The body of 16 year-old Siddharth Chettri was identified on Tuesday by the mother at the morgue of the Civil Hospital, Shillong on Tuesday.
Deputy Superintendent of Police Jyoti Wahlang told The Shillong Times that the mother identified her son’s body through a scar mark on his right leg.
She also informed that the family requested for post-mortem exemption since they did not suspect any foul play in the drowning case.
Wahlang, who is also the Sector Officer of Nongmensong, said Extra Assistant Commissioner Dahun Lyngdoh has issued an order for post-mortem exemption and the body will be handed over to the family for the last rite.
The deceased’s highly-decomposed body was discovered at Mawdum, Umiam, on Monday evening by local fishermen. The fishermen, with help from the police, retrieved the body. Family members of the missing boy had gone to Shillong Civil Hospital on Monday to identify the body but were unable to do so due to the advanced state of decomposition.
SDRF personnel had been searching for the 16-year-old boy since he was swept away by a flash flood on the evening of June 23.