HYDERABAD: In a shocking incident, the body of a class 10 boy, who was allegedly kidnapped for ransom, was found stuffed in a carton near Secunderabad railway station on Wednesday night.
Though Abhay Modhani, the 15-year-old boy of Sree Colony in Shahinayatgunj went missing on Wednesday afternoon, the family assumed it to be a case of runaway-child. Police, who sprang into action after recovering the body of the boy from Secunderabad, detained three suspects from Vijayawada on Thursday afternoon. Though the motive for the murder is yet to be revealed, police are primarily probing the case from two angles 1) that of ransom and 2) previous enemity. The abductors, who took the boy hostage, had demanded `10 crores as ransom for his release. However, his body was found near Secunderabad Railway Station at around 10.50 pm. Police suspect that the boy would have been killed even before the family received a call demanding ransom. Investigators are looking into a possible angle of business rivalry too.
The class-10 student of Slate - The School in Abids in the city is one of the twin sons of Raj Kumar and Anuradha. Raj Kumar owns a plastic manufacturing company in Katedan. Abhay was preparing for the final exams scheduled to commence on March 21, when tragedy struck. The joint family which migrated from Rajasthan two decades ago has been living at Sree Colony in Shahinayathgunj near Begum Bazar in the city.
According to family members, Abhay went out on Wednesday afternoon, on a blue-colour moped, to buy some idlis.
After a while, the family tried to contact him, but the phone was switched off. Raj Kumar along with relatives went around the locality in search of the boy. Failing to trace him, he lodged a missing person complaint with Shahinayathgunj Police at around 8 pm.
“The family members assumed that the boy must have ran away from home or that his friends might have kidnapped him for a petty amount,” said Mohit, a neighbour of Abhay, who was with the family on Wednesday night.
They were shocked as Kavitha, wife of Raj Kumar’s brother, received a phone call at around 10 pm demanding Rs 10 crore as ransom for releasing the boy. The kidnapper called again a few minutes later where he negotiated and tried to seal the deal at `5 crore. While family members tried to explain they were not in a position to raise the amount during night hours, the caller demanded to bring the money to Secunderabad railway station.
At around 10.50 pm, the Market Police Station received information that the body of a boy was found stuffed in a cardboard box beside Alpha hotel near Secunderabad railway station. Police found out that the body was that of the boy reported to be missing. His hands were tied with a rope, and there were injury marks on his nose and abdomen.
“It appears that the boy was smothered. It is possible he could have been killed even before a ransom call was made to parents. We are verifying the aspect of ransom call too,” said A Venkateswar Rao, DCP(West Zone). When the Market Police searched for CCTV video grab to find if images of the abductors and killers can be accessed, they found that the carton box was dropped 10 feet away from the reach of security camera installed at Alpha Hotel. An investigation was launched based on call data records (CDR).
During the course of investigation, they found a CCTV footage where Abhay was pillion-riding on his moped driven by a 20-year-old youngster at around 5p.m. Police showed the images to family members for identification. They enquired if they have enmity with anyone or business rivalry. Postmortem examination of the deceased was performed at Gandhi hospital, and the body was handed over to the family. Police who reportedly took custody of the accused enquired details of abduction.
Rs 1 Lakh Reward for Clues on Suspect
Hyderabad police on Thursday night announced a reward of Rs 1 Lakh to anyone who gives clues about the youth, suspected to be behind the kidnap and murder of Abhay Modhani (15). The youth was found riding the moped of Abhay in CCTV footages retrieved by the police. Anybody who identifies him can contact DCP WEST 91 94-90-616552 Hyderabad Whatsapp Number-9490616555.