This story is from October 23, 2020

Telangana: Man kidnaps, kills boy, then calls for ransom

A 9-year-old boy, who was kidnapped on Sunday, was throttled to death the same day and his body burnt in Mahabubabad district by his abductor before he made ransom calls, police said on Thursday. Cops are also probing if a relative had any role in the kidnapping.
Telangana: Man kidnaps, kills boy, then calls for ransom
Representative image
HYDERABAD: A 9-year-old boy, who was kidnapped on Sunday, was throttled to death the same day and his body burnt in Mahabubabad district by his abductor before he made ransom calls, police said on Thursday. Cops are also probing if a relative had any role in the kidnapping.
The boy, Deekshith Reddy, was picked up near his residence by Manga Sagar, a motor mechanic, who was known to family as they were from the same village near the town.
Sagar had lured the boy, who was playing with his friends, by offering him a joyride on his bike. The boy readily agreed to go as Sagar was known to his businessman father Ranjith Reddy, cops said.
The boy’s father had recently bought a property and Sagar hatched the plan hoping to squeeze him for money, but apparently developed cold feet and murdered the boy, cops said.
“The boy was killed the same day he was kidnapped. Sagar feared that the boy will disclose his identity. So he throttled him, poured petrol and burnt the boy so the body could not be identified. After killing the boy, Sagar made VoIP calls to the family for ransom,’’ Mahabubabad SP N Koti Reddy said.
The SP said that the boy was taken to a possible hideout in Palupusapalli hillock from where Sagar called demanding Rs 45 lakh as ransom on Sunday and Monday.
Investigators said that the mechanic was arrested after they came across CCTV footage and trapped him when he came to take cash from a family member. The role of boy’s relative is being probed as he could be a possible accomplice, investigators said.
Until Sagar disclosed that the boy was murdered, local police had the impression that the boy was alive and it was being treated as a case of kidnap for ransom. The accused was taken to the hillock from where the burnt body was recovered later.
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