Sultanpur: In a shocking incident, a minor boy was allegedly killed by a neighboring youth after the child’s family didn't pay the ransom money, police said on Wednesday.
A youth named Asif, alias Sonu had allegedly kidnapped the 11-year-old boy and demanded a ransom of Rs 5 lakh from his family, police said. “When the ransom was not paid, Asif strangled the boy to death and hid his body under his bed,” they said.
Superintendent of Police (SP) Somen Verma told the media that the initial investigation found that Asif was debt-ridden as he had taken an online loan and was unable to repay it. “To repay the loan amount, he thought of a plan. He befriended the child and lured him to his house on the pretext of giving him chocolates and held him captive there to extract the ransom from the family,” he said.
“The accused pretended to help the family search for the missing child, all the while hiding his body under his bed. Later, he demanded the ransom from the boy’s family,” Verma said.
The SP said the accused had been arrested while the child's body was sent for postmortem for further investigation. The police have also interrogated the boy’s family.
Meanwhile, the incident triggered outrage in the locality, with the victim's family and neighbours demanding strict action against Asif.
