Sambalpur, Feb. 2: Tension gripped Dhankauda here after bodies of two 12-year-old schoolchildren, who had been missing since Sunday, were found floating in the Haradjor, a Mahanadi tributary, this morning.

Angry residents of Sonapali, the village where the children belonged to, blocked the Mumbai-Calcutta highway near Dhankauda for more than three hours after the bodies were fished out from the Haradjor. Hundreds of vehicles remained stranded on either side of the road.

The villagers alleged that the incident took place because of police negligence. They even pelted a police vehicle with stones, breaking its windscreen. Even reporters were not spared.

The deceased children were identified as Md Sahil and Md Fardin - both students of Class VI in a private school in Sambalpur. The children went missing on Sunday morning. After failing to trace them, their family members had informed Dhanupali police on Sunday evening.

"Despite being informed, the police did not take up the matter seriously. One of the children was carrying a mobile phone. However, the police did not try to track its location. We suspect it to be a case of murder," said an agitator under condition of anonymity.

The people withdrew the roadblock after police superintendent Akhi-lesvar Singh discussed the matter with them. "The police had formed three teams to track the missing boys. There was no laxity on part of the police. We have sought the call record of the mobile phone," he said.

"We have sent the bodies for autopsy. The reason behind the death could be ascertained after we receive the report. Preliminary inquiry indicates that the two children died due to drowning," Singh said.

He said action would be taken against those, who pelted the vehicle with stones.