According to the police, Athiyan alias Abbu was reported missing from his house in Shamirpet on October 15 while playing near his house.
Hyderabad: In a shocking incident, a five year-old-boy was smothered to death by a 17-year-old, who was reportedly afraid that the victim’s family would reprimand him for injuries the child had suffered when the two were shooting a video.
According to the police, Athiyan alias Abbu was reported missing from his house in Shamirpet on October 15 while playing near his house. A case was registered by the police after his parents approached them. The police had analysed CCTV cameras installed in the area but were unable to get any leads. As it was raining continuously, the police had even started doubting whether the boy could have been washed away or fallen in a drain during the rains.
“On October 23, the 17-year-old called a relative of the child and said he had kidnapped the boy and sought a ransom of Rs 15 lakh for releasing the boy,” said AVR Narsimha Rao, ACP (Petbasheerabad), adding that the juvenile had done this to mislead the police and also to escape once he got the money.
The police in the meantime launched operation to track down the caller and based on the call details and mobile tower locations, the juvenile was nabbed. On questioning, he told the police that Athiyan had suffered serious injuries while they were filming a video to be uploaded on video sharing and messaging platform ‘Share Chat’.
“Afraid of being reprimanded by elders and the child’s family, the juvenile smothered him to death and took the body for nearly two kilometre and dumped it near the Outer Ring Road in Shamirpet,” the ACP said, adding that the police found the body based on the location the juvenile told them.
The body was in a highly decomposed state and was shifted to the Osmania General Hospital for autopsy. The police have booked a case of kidnap and murder against the juvenile and are investigating.
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