A Class X student of a premier Jamshedpur school, missing since the small hours of Sunday, was found dead in a lake near his home on Monday morning, prompting family members to cry murder although police suspect drowning.

The body of Fardeen Khan (16), a resident of Block B in Dhatkidih under Bistupur thana and student of DBMS English School in Kadma, was spotted in the landmark Beldih Lake around 6am and fished out by police two hours later. The teenager had injury marks on the left side of his temple and blood had caked near his left ear and nostrils.

Police have sent the body to MGM Medical College in Dimna for post-mortem.

According to family members, Fardeen had received a call at an unearthly hour on Sunday and left home. He did not return, triggering a search throughout the day and a verbal complaint at Bistupur thana on Sunday evening.

"All we know is that my nephew received a call around 3am. No one saw when exactly he left home. My mother saw the backyard light switched on around 4am and then checked Fardeen's room. He was gone. She woke us all up and we began searching for him," said uncle Gulrez Khan, stressing that it was a case of murder.

Gulrez said Fardeen's father Samsher Khan worked in a steel manufacturing company in Qatar and was on his way home after hearing the tragic news about his only son.

"This is a case of murder. The body is in the morgue. We will not allow police to conduct post-mortem till my elder brother (Samsher) reaches here from Qatar," Gulrez added.

Sources said a resident of Radio Maidan, near Beldih Lake, was the first to see the floating body and inform police. A team retrieved the body around 8am and soon it was identified as that of Fardeen's. He was dressed casually. His left slipper was still on his feet while the other was floating nearby.

DSP (control room) Sudhir Kumar, whose jurisdiction extends over Bistupur thana, ruled out foul play.

"The teenager drowned in the lake. There is no other angle we believe. We are sending the body for post-mortem for a proper report," he said, conceding that it was not clear why the student might have had a sudden death wish or the need to go near the lake at such an hour. "We have to probe the circumstances that led to the drowning."

On why Fardeen had external injuries, the senior officer said: "Bleeding from the nose and ears is common in cases of drowning. He may have suffered the head injury while jumping into the lake."

A doctor at MGM Medical College and Hospital in Sakchi contradicted him. "In drowning cases, bleeding from nose/ears does not take place unless there is severe head or chest trauma; like a person hitting any hard object like a rock," said G.S. Baraik, head of orthopaedics.

Beldih Lake, an angling haunt, is not known to have rocks under its water surface.

Rajni Shekhar, principal of DBMS English School, said she was not aware of the tragedy "It is a shocking news that I am receiving from you. Police must probe the truth," she said.