5-year-old boy kidnapped for ransom found killed; uncle held

A five-year-old boy allegedly kidnapped for ransom was found killed near here in Madhya Pradesh Wednesday and his uncle has been arrested for the crime, police said.

His body, stuffed in a bag, was found in a drain near a village, police said.

The boy's uncle, Anutabh Prajapati (19), who allegedly strangled him to death, has been arrested, Rewa range police deputy inspector general (DIG) Avinash Sharma told reporters.

The accused kidnapped the boy Tuesday evening while he was playing in his village Rahekbar under Nagaur police station area, he said.

The accused had sought a ransom of Rs 2 lakh from the boy's family to release him, the DIG said.

The minor's body was later found in a drain some 50 metres away from his house, Sharma said.

"We have detained some more suspects in the case and they are being grilled," he added.

"We first picked up Anutabh after a ransom call was made to the victim's family," the IPS officer said.

"He confessed of killing the child and thereafter we recovered the body," he added.

Sharma said heavy police force has been deployed in the village where tension is prevailing in the wake of the murder.

This is the latest kidnap and murder case to jolt Satna district.

On February 12, two six-year-old twin brothers were kidnapped from their school for ransom in this district's Chitrakoot area, police had said.

Their bodies were found floating in the Yamuna river in adjoining Uttar Pradesh's Banda district on February 23.

Six people, including two engineering students, were arrested for the double murder.

The accused had killed the twins after collecting Rs 20 lakh as ransom from their parents, the police had said.