Cuttack, Sept. 1: An irate mob today torched a police control room van at Sainsa village, about 22km from here, after the body of a 20-month-old baby was found near a pond. The body bore injury marks.

The villagers pelted stones at the vehicle and later set it afire in the morning. No policeman was injured in the incident. The villagers alleged that the baby had been kidnapped and murdered by another villager. Had the police acted on the complaint lodged by the victim’s parents, the baby could have been saved, said the villagers.

Three platoons of police have been deployed in the area to check any further untoward incident. “We have registered a case and investigation is on,” said deputy commissioner of police Praveen Kumar.

The boy, identified as Jyotijagat Mohapatra, had been missing since yesterday. His family members said though they had lodged a missing complaint with the Sadar police, no measure was taken to rescue the child. A neighbour had abducted the baby, they alleged.

“My son was playing near our house. Suddenly he went missing. We failed to find him out,” said Jayanti Mohapatra, 31, the child’s mother.

Jayanti said her son, Jyotijagat alias Chintu, was killed over past rivalry with their neighbour, who earlier had allegedly threatened to kill all her family members. Chintu’s body had injury marks and blood was oozing out from his mouth and nose.

“Even today, the police came late when we informed them that the body had been recovered,” said villager Ravindra Sahu. “We suspect the child has been strangulated to death,” said another villager.

Senior police officers, including deputy commissioner of police Praveen Kumar, reached the spot to take stock of the situation.