Ludhiana: 10-yr-old kidnapped, killed for Rs 1.50 lakh; body thrown in canal

Amninder Kumar, who is a native of Bihar, told the police that his son had gone to the room of his neighbour Mukesh Kumar in the morning on June 15 and failed to return till late in the evening. He further told that when he went to Mukesh’s room to look for his son, he found it to be locked. A few hours later, he received a call from Mukesh who threatned to kill the boy if he was not given Rs 1.50 lakh as ransom money.

Police said that after Amninder received the ransom call, an FIR was registered on the basis of his statement under section 364-A (kidnapping for ransom) of IPC and a search launched for the boy.

On Thursday, police finally managed to locate and arrest Mukesh, and one of his aide Vikas Kumar, from Sahnewal airport road. During their interrogation, the duo told the police that they had strangulated the boy to death with a piece of plastic rope on the night of June 15 itself after making the ransom call. Later, they threw the body in Neelon Canal and fled.

Sub-inspector Kuldeep Singh, SHO of Focal Point police station, said that Vikas Kumar was Mukesh’s friend and the duo had hatched the conspiracy together to make quick money. “While Mukesh was unemployed since a year, Vikas worked at a factory. the duo are migrants and were living in Ludhiana for work. The deceased boy’s father is also a factory worker. Both the accused have confessed that they killed the boy for money. We are trying to locate the body in Neelon canal with the help of the irrigation department.”

The SHO said that sections 302 (murder) and 34 (act done with common intention) of IPC have been added in the FIR, which was already registered at Focal Point police station.