CHENNAI: A nine-year-old boy was allegedly kidnapped and beaten to death with an iron rod by a man known to the family on Wednesday. Police said they recovered the disfigured body of the child, Rithesh Sai, from an apartment at Indira Nagar in Selaiyur on Thursday, based on information given by accused E Nagaraj (27).
Police said Nagaraj picked up the child from his tuition centre at Nesapakkam around 6.30 pm on Wednesday, on the pretext that his mother Manjula had wanted to bring him home early.
“Since Nagaraj was well-known to the family, Rithesh went along with him. They reached Pallavaram on Nagaraj’s bike and ate in a hotel. After that, Nagaraj left his bike there and took Rithesh in an auto to a flat in a gated community at Selaiyur, which was built by a construction company in which he is working as a marketing manager,” said an investigation officer.
The gated community has over 250 houses and most of them are occupied and Nagaraj was in charge of selling the remaining flats.
“Around 7.30 pm, Nagaraj allegedly slit the boy’s throat with a broken glass bottle and hit him with an iron rod, killing him on the spot. He also reportedly tried to commit suicide by drinking some liquid used to clean the floor. Later, he locked the house with the boy’s body inside, went to Perungalathur and boarded a bus to Vellore,” the officer said.
Meanwhile, the boy’s father S Karthikeyan, who went to pick up his son from the tuition centre, learnt that Nagaraj had taken his son and did not return home. He filed a complaint with the MGR Nagar Police that his son was kidnapped. A special team was launched to search for the boy.
Meanwhile, the police nabbed Nagaraj on Thursday morning, who confessed to the crime and told the police that the body was in the apartment in Selaiyur.
Karthikeyan told reporters at the MGR Nagar Police Station that he suspected Nagaraj to have murdered his son to get all property registered in his wife’s name. “When my son went missing, I even asked my wife if she had a fight with Nagaraj and if that was the reason why he kidnapped Rithesh,” said Karthikeyan.
Preliminary probe revealed that Nagaraj lived in the same area where the family resided. “Often Karthikeyan would pick a fight with Nagaraj as he suspected the latter of having an intimate relationship with his wife Manjula. Six months ago, Karthikeyan filed a complaint with the MGR Police that Nagaraj had grabbed his property through his wife. Nagaraj was arrested and later released on bail,” said the police officer, explaining the animosity between Nagaraj and Karthikeyan.
The murder of the child has sent shock waves in the private apartment. One of Nagaraj’s colleagues said, “He (Nagaraj) would never talk much, but I have seen him bring the boy (Rithesh) to the apartment before. Though he stayed in Ramapuram, he brought the child here to play in the park sometimes.”
Nagaraj has been remanded in judicial custody.