Srikakulam, July 14: A nine-year-old boy who was kidnapped while returning from his tuition two days ago was murdered and his body thrown into a well less than 2 km from his house.
In a scene that would break the stoutest of hearts, local people found the boy’s body floating in the well with both hands bound with a cord. Son of a rich cashewnut trader in Kasibugga, S Sohit went to his tuition class on Saturday, as he used to do every evening. He never returned. His tuition master said he had set out for home as usual at 8 pm. When he had not returned yet at 9 pm, his father S Ravi Kumar grew worried and began to search for him and lodged a complaint with the police.
People along the boy’s normal route back home told Ravi Kumar that they had seen a car stop near Sohit and two persons whisk him away. The Kasibugga police and Ravi Kumar’s family searched for the boy at all possible locations but drew a blank.
Police expected that the kidnappers would make a telephone call to demand a ransom for the boy’s freedom.
They tapped all the telephones used by Ravi Kumar. However, no ransom call came.
Sohit was Ravi Kumar’s elder son. He was student of class four in a private school in Kasibugga.
His younger brother Krishna is in class two in the same school.
Police are mystified by the murder.
The boy’s parents have not furnished any names of possible suspects. Ravi Kumar said he does not have any disputes either within the extended family nor on the business front. A senior police officer told Express, however, that they do have some clue to the case.
Two special teams have already swung into action to solve it. “We are looking into Ravi Kumar’s relations with his close associates and relatives,” the officer said.
—Agencies