Two arrested for murder of 14-year-old boy in Sathya Sai district

The Madakasira Police on Saturday evening arrested a 26-year-old youth and a woman in connection with the brutal murder of a Class 8 student Chetan Kumar of Amidalagondhi village in Madakasira mandal of Sri Sathya Sai district. The boy’s body was found on November 28 at a forest site on the Madakasiri-Karnataka border.

In a press conference here on Sunday, Police Commissioner V. Ratna said that the deceased’s mother (29), a resident of Madakasira Mandal, had been living with her son Chetan (14) in Muravapalle village after separating from her husband 13 years ago. She works at the KIA factory near Penukonda while the boy studied at the nearby ZP High School in Amidalagondhi.

A relative of the woman’s maternal side, Ashok (26), who settled in Karnataka, tried to seduce the boy’s mother knowing that she lived alone. The woman complained about this to her father and both of them reprimanded Ashok and informed the relatives about his bad intentions.

Ashok took this as an insult and hatched a conspiracy to kill the woman’s son. On November 27, he picked up the boy from his school and took him to a remote place on his motorcycle. Ashok called the boy’s grandfather on the cell phone of one of his friends and demanded a ransom, saying his grandson had been kidnapped. However, the boy’s mother and father took the matter lightly. On the evening of November 27, Ashok murdered the boy with a knife and threw the body into the thicket. The brutal murder came to light the next day when some villagers noticed the body.

The SP formed a special team to investigate the case. As part of the investigation, the police checked the call details of the boy’s mother and grandfather and thus came to know about the kidnapping episode. On Saturday evening, Ashok and his girlfriend were arrested at a bus stop near the village.

The SP said that during investigation it was found that Ashok lured the poor and gullible women in the name of love by meeting them through social media platforms. Police seized the knife and a rope used in the murder, as well as the cellphone used to threaten the boy’s grandfather.

SP Ratna said that the accused will be sent to judicial custody. A case has been initiated against the duo.