MP: Teen killed by cousin over property dispute in Satna

The body of a 13-year-old boy, who was allegedly kidnapped by his cousin two days ago, was found on Sunday in Madhya Pradesh's Satna district, a senior police official said.

Vikas Prajapati's killing was the fallout of a property dispute as per initial probe, though the accused tried to mislead the police by making a ransom call to the deceased's family after the death, he said.

Prajapati's body was found in a well inside an old fort on a hillock near Chorhata village under Amarpatan police stations limits, Satna Superintendent of Police Riyaz Iqbal told reporters.

"Prajapati was playing outside his house on Friday when his cousin Lalle Prajapati (20) took him to the fort nearby for a walk. On reaching there, Lalle, along with another accused Hiralal, tied Prajapati with ropes and threw him into a well," Iqbal said.

The SP said the deceased's family and accused Lalle's father were embroiled in a dispute over division of property.

"After Vikas went missing, his family looked for him till late Friday night after which they approached Amarapatan police," he said.

Using fake documents, the accused bought a mobile phone SIM and made a ransom call of Rs 10 lakh to Prajapati's father on Saturday.

"We were suspicious about the ransom call as the deceased's father was not financially in a position to pay even Rs 20,000. We found that the ransom call was made from the village itself. Lalle was arrested within four hours of this call. Hiralal is absconding," the SP said.

"We found the body after interrogating the accused. Two persons who sold the SIM to Lalle on the basis of fake documents have also been arrested," he added.

The incident led to the opposition BJP hitting out at the Congress-led Madhya Pradesh government.

"The incident of the murder of innocent boy after kidnapping in Satna is heartbreaking. In the past, two innocent brothers were murdered in Satna after their kidnapping, but the government did not take any step to stop such incidents," former CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan tweeted.

"There is no law and order in the state. How many parents will have to lose their children like this?" his tweet added.

State Home Minister Bala Bachchan, however, responded by saying it was a crime committed due to a property dispute, adding that action will be taken against policemen if negligence was found on their part.