Five-year-old abducted during Bathukamma festivities found murdered in Hyderabad

A five-year-old girl who went missing during Bathukamma celebrations at a gated community in Hyderabad's Kowkoor area was found murdered in an open sump in the clubhouse cellar.

Hyderabad: A five-year-old girl who went missing during Bathukamma celebrations at a gated community in Kowkoor was found murdered in an open sump in the clubhouse cellar in the early hours of Sunday. 

The police suspect a former security guard, who was recently removed from service, of kidnapping and killing the child after demanding a ransom of Rs 20 lakh from her family.

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The suspect, identified as Vikram, is absconding, and police teams have been formed to trace him. The police are also examining whether another security guard had any role in the crime.

The Class II student had gone to the clubhouse to watch Bathukamma celebrations on Saturday evening. At around 7.45 pm, her grandfather received a call from an unidentified person speaking in Hindi, who claimed to have the girl and demanded Rs. 20 lakh for her release. The caller asked him to come to Trimulgherry to collect the child. The girl’s father subsequently received a similar call.

After searching for the child with the help of other residents, the family approached the police. During a search operation, the girl’s body was found in an open sump in the clubhouse cellar at around 1.30 a.m. on Sunday. Her hands and legs were tied, police said.

A review of CCTV footage reportedly showed the girl leaving the clubhouse, followed by a man. The phone number used to make the ransom calls was traced to a mobile phone belonging to a security guard. According to a resident, the guard told them that Vikram had taken his phone and made the calls.

An audio clip of the purported ransom conversation, aired by television channels, reportedly captured the caller asking the family whether they wanted the girl back and directing them to transfer the money to a bank account. He allegedly promised to share the location where the child could be collected but refused the family’s request for a video call.

The girl’s parents demanded stringent punishment for the person responsible for her death. Her father, who works as a research scientist at an agricultural company, expressed anguish over the killing.

A case has been registered at the Bollarum police station. The police are continuing efforts to apprehend the suspect and establish the sequence of events leading to the child’s death.