Tension erupted on Ashiana-Digha road on Friday after the decomposed body of a 12-year-old boy was recovered from a deserted enclosure at Magistrate Colony.

Identified as Karn Kumar, the boy was a ragpicker and was missing since four days.

Sources said around 12 noon, some boys spotted the body.

The police were apprised and some other youths engaged in ragpicking identified it. The body was sent for post-mortem.

After the news spread, slum-dwellers in and around the area blocked the road till 2pm. The mob also burnt tyres and pelted stones at a market.

“The boy had disappeared four days back but the family did not lodge a missing diary. How are the police supposed to know that someone is missing?” an officer at Shastri Nagar police station said.

By the time the police managed to pacify the mob, several motorists got stuck in a snarl and took patience test under the sun.