Three persons, including the main accused, taken into custody
The body of eight-year-old Konathala Uday, son of Anakapalle-based financier Srinivasa Rao, who was reportedly kidnapped on Friday night, was found at Kopakka, a village located between Anakapalle and Visakhapatnam, on Sunday morning.
Three persons, including the main accused, were taken into custody by the police on Sunday.
The decomposed body was found in a bush on the banks of Yeluru Canal after a few villagers felt foul smell emanating from it.
“The boy was tortured before being smothered to death using a plastic bag on Friday itself. Three fingers of his right hand were also cut off,” said Anakapalle Town Inspector G. Chandra.
The main accused, B. Manoj, 20, is the boy’s neighbour and is addicted to vices.
The case appears to be similar to the one reported in Hyderabad recently, where the kidnappers demanded ransom after killing the victim. But in the Hyderabad incident, the victim was accidentally killed.
In the present case, the victim was killed allegedly in cold blood. In both the cases, the victim was known to the kidnappers, said sources in the police department.
“Two other persons have also been taken into custody and investigation is on to establish the guilt and reason for the kidnap and murder,” said Anakapalle DSP A. Purushottam.
Uday left home at about 11.30 a.m. and did not return home on Friday. His parents and relatives started searching for him from 5.30 p.m. At about 7.30 p.m., Mr. Srinivasa Rao received a call from the kidnappers stating that the boy had been kidnapped. They demanded a ransom of Rs.1 lakh to free the boy. The kidnappers asked the father to come to Anakapalle Railway Station at about 11 p.m. to pay the ransom.
Mr. Srinivasa Rao went to the station at the appointed hour. Finding none, he lodged a complaint with the Anakapalle town police at about 11.30 p.m.
Pre-activated SIM
Swinging into action, Mr. Chandra and his team located the cell number and took into custody the owner of the SIM at about 2 a.m. They later realised that the number was disconnected by the owner about three months ago.
The kidnappers had obtained a pre-activated SIM from a dealer by producing fake documents, said the sources in the police department. The kidnappers called again at about 2 a.m. and at 3.50 a.m. The last call came at about 10.30 a.m. on Saturday.
The calls were traced to APSRTC Complex in Visakhapatnam. A special team rushed to the spot and picked up two persons.
The police are tight-lipped on how and where Manoj was picked up, stating that investigation was in progress.
Both the accused and the victim belong to the influential Gavara community.