Agra (Uttar Pradesh): In a horrific incident, a five-year-old boy, Mayank Kumar hailing from Amanabad in the Barhan police station limits was kidnapped from outside his house and murdered by his maternal grandmother, Kalpana Sharma, and her brother, Lalit on Saturday. Police apprehended the assailants.
According to police, the duo demanded a ransom of Rs 15 lakh from the child's family. However, their plan took a deadly turn when the child was given sleeping pills, which made him unconscious. Believing him to be dead, the accused locked the child inside a sack and threw him into the Sahapau canal five kilometres away from Amanabad.
The child's body was recovered on Monday, with injuries on his face and one ear cut off. The post-mortem revealed drowning to be the cause of death.
Police investigations led to the arrest of Kalpana Sharma and Lalit, who confessed to the crime during interrogation. According to police, Lalit needed money and targeted the child's family, knowing that the child's grandfather had received a substantial amount from his retirement fund.
"The accused planned and executed the kidnapping and murder, using sleeping pills to sedate the child," said Etmadpur ACP Piyush Kant. "Their motive was to extort money from the child's family."
The community is in shock, with the child's family and villagers expressing outrage and disbelief that the child's relatives themselves could commit such a heinous crime.
Kalpana Sharma and Lalit are currently in police custody and are being questioned further. The police have registered a case of kidnapping and murder against the accused.
