Sign in

'Was stressed', says Madhya Pradesh cop accused of killing boy asking for money

Datia police superintendent said the policeman initially told investigators someone put the child’s body in the car’s boot but came around after CCTV showed the boy talking to him.

Updated on: May 12, 2022, 11:47:49 IST
Share
Share via
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • linkedin
  • whatsapp
Copy link
  • copy link

BHOPAL: A six-year-old boy was allegedly killed by a head constable for repeatedly asking him for money to buy food during the Rath Yatra in Datia, police said on Wednesday.

The little boy was killed because he was pestering the policeman for money, saying he was hungry (Getty Images/iStockphoto)
The little boy was killed because he was pestering the policeman for money, saying he was hungry (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

The policeman, Ravi Sharma, who was posted at Police Training Centre in Gwalior, was arrested on Tuesday. Sharma allegedly strangled the boy in Datia where he was sent on assignment, put his tiny lifeless body in the car’s boot and drove 70km back to Gwalior before dumping his body at an abandoned spot.

Datia superintendent of police Aman Singh Rathod said, “Sanjeev Sen, a resident of Panchsheel Nagar, filed a complaint with police that his son had gone missing after Rath Yatra. During the investigation, Gwalior police informed Datia police about the body of a boy which was recovered from Science College on May 6.”

“In the investigation, we found CCTV footage in which Ravi Sharma’s car was spotted passing the crime scene. Sharma said he was sent on duty during the Rath Yatra in Datia. He returned to Gwalior with two other police constables in his car,” the Datia SP said.

Initially, he insisted that when he opened the boot of the car, he saw the body, which must have been put by someone else and he just threw it, said the SP.

But when he was interrogated and video footage was shown to him in which the boy was seen asking him something, Sharma allegedly confessed.

“Sharma said he was stressed when the boy was asking for money for food. The boy kept repeatedly asking for money as he was hungry. Sharma took the boy near his car and killed him by strangulation. Later he put the body in the dickey,” said the officer.

Sharma has been arrested under section 302 (murder) of the penal code.

  • Shruti Tomar
    ABOUT THE AUTHOR
    Shruti Tomar

    I have spent over a decade chronicling Madhya Pradesh’s political and social landscape, covering politics, investigative journalism, crime, human interest, and government policy, blending sharp insight with ground‑level depth. I have closely tracked three assembly elections, three Lok Sabha elections, leadership transitions in MP while exposing governance lapses, tender irregularities, and flawed policy rollouts. My reports have revealed gaps in the Cheetah project, irregularities in medical education, rigging in recruitment exams, and loopholes in policy implementation. In crime reporting, I have moved beyond FIRs to map systemic patterns — from organised crime networks and gender‑based violence to custodial accountability — balancing urgency with sensitivity. My journalism is defined by a commitment to human interest. I have profiled the marginalised Bancchda community, documented atrocities against tribal groups, and highlighted efforts to preserve their culture through heritage liquor and revival of spiritual practices. I have reported on farmers struggling with failed MSP promises, giving voice to those often reduced to statistics in policy files. Passionate about field reporting, I have reported on rampant sand mining in Chambal and Narmada, pharmaceutical companies supplying medicines under altered names, the dire condition of schools and colleges, the plight of commercial sex workers, and skewed sex ratios in specific districts. Beyond deadlines, and as HT’s state correspondent and assistant editor in Madhya Pradesh, I engage with ministers, farmers, students, and activists, believing the best policy stories begin with a single human voice. A postgraduate in Journalism and Mass Communication, I also hold a diploma in sports journalism.Read More