9-year-old kidnapped for ransom in Telangana found murdered

 Telangana | Written by : IANS Updated: Thu, Oct 22, 2020, 03:08 PM

Hyderabad, Oct 22 (IANS) In a shocking incident, a nine-year-old boy who was kidnapped for Rs.45 lakh ransom five days ago in Telangana's Mahabubabad district was found murdered on Thursday, police said.

The charred body of Kusuma Deekshith Reddy, 9, son of a local journalist, was found on the hillocks on the outskirts of Annaram in Ksamudram mandal, about five km from Mahbubabad town.

Deekshith was kidnapped by an unidentified person when he was playing outside his house in Mahabubabad town on Sunday (October 19) evening.

Mahabubabad Superintendent of Police S. Koti Reddy said though the kidnapper killed the boy within a couple hours after the kidnap, he behaved like a psychopath to call the boy's family every day to demand money.

Manda Sagar, 23, a bike mechanic, living near the house of Deekshith Reddy, has been arrested for kidnap and murder.

The police officer said the accused kidnapped the boy to make easy money. "Since he was known to the boy, he accompanied the kidnapper. After taking the boy to a secluded place, he realized that controlling the boy single handedly will be difficult. He strangulated the boy to death as he was worried that the boy may reveal the incident to his family," the SP said.

Even after killing the boy, the accused called the boy's mother Vasantha on her mobile phone around 9 p.m. and demanded Rs.45 lakh. He also warned her that if they informed the police the boy would be killed.

The kidnapper called the family almost every day through the Internet. On Wednesday, he asked them to arrange the money and bring it to Moodu Kotla locality.

Though the boy's father Ranjith Reddy, a contributor for a vernacular news channel, went there with the money in a bag, the kidnapper did not turn up. He waited there till Wednesday night.

The special teams formed by police following a complaint by the boy's parents had laid a trap to arrest the kidnapper.

The SP said they had questioned several suspects but investigations established that Manda Sagar acted alone.

He said details of how the case police cracked the case using technology would be revealed later.