JAJPUR:A 25- year-old man was arrested for allegedly kidnapping and strangulating a five-year-old boy at Berhampur village under Jenapur police station limits in the district on Tuesday. The deceased has been identified as Maheswar Dalei, son of Pradipta Dalei of the same village. Police are trying to ascertain the motive behind the murder.
According to police, Tapan Dalei of Berhampur village sneaked into the house of Maheswar on Monday night. While his father was busy watching television in his room and his mother was cooking, the accused apparently managed to escape with the child by luring the latter with chocolates. “The accused took the boy to the bank of river Brahmani and killed him there. He, then, dumped the body in the river,” police added.
When the family coudn’t find the child in the house, they searched for him along with the neighbours. Sources said the neighbours found the accused roaming suspiciously along the bank of the river. Later, they spotted the child’s body floating on the river. An FIR was registered with the police by the child’s father on Tuesday morning. Based on circumstantial evidences and initial inquiry, police arrested the accused later in the day. During questioning, he confessed to the crime. Tapan and Pradipta are relatives and lived in adjacent houses. They had enmity over a petty issue, police added.