The teenagers who kidnapped and murdered a 10-year-old boy in Powai on Sunday night were hoping to claim as ransom the money the victim’s family had saved to start a business.
The police said that the accused, both aged 19, who were arrested on Tuesday, could have hatched the plan to kidnap their employer’s nephew Ritesh Singh after he inadvertently revealed to them that his family had personal savings of ₹3 lakh.
The police said that the victim’s father, Babloo Singh, had told his son a day before the murder that he was planning to invest the family’s savings to set up a shop in their hometown of Fatehpur in Uttar Pradesh or purchase a two-wheeler in Mumbai.
Mr. Singh said, “Ritesh used to play with Amar Singh [the main accused] and shared everything with him. He worked at my brother’s general store and he often came home for tea and played with my kids. My son could have shared the news of the savings with Amar and he would have decided to kidnap him.”
Mr. Singh, who has been working as an electrician in Mumbai for past 10 years, had brought his wife and children to the city this year. He then enrolled Ritesh and his younger sister at Powai Pathshala.
Senior Police Inspector Anil V. Pophale said at 9.30 p.m. on Sunday, Ritesh’s parents complained that their son had been missing for four hours. Mr. Pophale said, “We learnt that Ritesh was last seen playing with Amar. We later found Amar consuming alcohol at his friend’s house in Bhayander.”
The police interrogated Amar on Monday evening and he admitted to the crime. A police team later found Ritesh’s body buried in the municipal ground near Bhayander creek.
Mr. Pophale said, “The accused confessed that he along with his friend Lalu Singh hatched the plan to kidnap Ritesh. The plan was to demand a ransom of ₹3 lakh from his father.
“However, when Mr. Singh contacted Amar at 6 p.m. on Sunday to find out his son’s whereabouts, the duo panicked and strangled Ritesh to death. The body had injuries on the face and chest.”
