Ranchi: The body of a 16-year-old boy, his skull smashed with a boulder, was found in Sakhua Bagan in Dhurwa around Tuesday midnight, with preliminary investigations indicating a drunken brawl gone awry.

A murder case was registered on Wednesday based on the statement of deceased Bauna Yadav's cousin, Mithilesh Yadav, and the body sent to RIMS for post-mortem.

Dhurwa thana OC T. Ram said initial probe suggested a fight among friends who were all in an inebriated state. "But, it is too early to draw conclusions. The case is under investigation. We are waiting for the autopsy report and are questioning Bauna's friends," the officer said.

Police said the victim's family originally hailed from Chhapra district in Bihar.

"They are poor and lived in a hut at Sakhua Bagan. A year ago, the parents ran a vegetable stall and the boy, who was illiterate, helped them in business. After his parents returned to their native Chhapra because business was not profitable here, he started helping auto-rickshaw drivers," OC Ram said.

A local resident said the boy was closely associated with an auto driver named Nandu. "The boy had become a habitual drinker. But, what happened last night is a matter of police investigation," he added.