Body of boy missing for 3 days found in Andhra Pradesh

CHENNAI: Three days after he went missing, the Tiruvallur police on Monday night recovered the body of an eight-year-old boy from Andhra Pradesh.

The deceased, S Hanish (8) of Palavedu Village near Gummidipoondi, 50 km away from Chennai, was allegedly kidnapped for ransom. The police have arrested a woman, who was the boy’s neighbour.

The boy, a Class 3 student at a private school, had returned from school and was playing at a ground nearby his house when he went missing on Saturday evening.

As parents and villagers were searching for the boy, two youths from the neighbourhood alerted them on Sunday morning about seeing Hanish in a motorbike with a woman. The woman was identified as Rekha, a neighbour of the boy. A police team secured Rekha on Sunday evening.

Investigations revealed that Rekha’s two-wheeler met with an accident near the Thiruvallur-Andhra Pradesh border on Saturday night. After the accident, a crowd gathered at the scene to help the woman. However, she quickly left the place.

According to police, Rekha developed cold feet as she was spotted by the public. She, along with her accomplice, then murdered the boy and put his body in a gunny sack and dumped it on the roadside along Tada-Kalahasthi Road.

Rekha is part of a gang that kidnaps kids for ransom from parents. If they fail to get the money, they sell the children as part of a begging network, police sources said. Police have launched a search for her accomplice, Ravanaiah (35). Special teams are camped in AP to secure the suspect, police said.

Meanwhile, the Madharpakkam - Sathyavedu road near Pathirvedu police station witnessed a road roko on Sunday and Monday alleging police inaction on the matter immediately after the complaint was lodged.

Hanish’s father, Suresh, works in a private company while his mother, Indumathi is a housewife. The deceased boy has an elder brother.