Kidnappers sodomise boy, throw him in Ganga after failing to get ransom

Police said they had arrested the four kidnappers who had confessed to having sodomised the boy and throwing him alive in the Ganga. Police divers were looking for the boy or his body, they said.

Kanpur: A 10-year-old boy was kidnapped close to his house two days ago from Cantonment. The kidnappers called his father for a ransom of ₹6 lakh but when he told them he was unable to pay, they sodomised the boy and threw him in the Ganga alive.

During interrogation, these men told the police that after the father expressed his inability to pay, they sodomised the boy. An hour later, they took him to the river and threw him into it alive. (Pic for representation)

Police said they had arrested the four kidnappers who had confessed to having sodomised the boy and throwing him alive in the Ganga. Police divers were looking for the boy or his body, they said.

Joint commissioner of police, Anand Prakash Tiwari said, “There is a possibility that the boy was sexually assaulted before he was thrown in the river. Police are investigating and have arrested four people living in the same locality as the boy’s.”

The boy’s family lives in Cantonment area and his father drives a loader. Police said the boy had gone out to play on Monday evening and went missing afterwards. The family searched him for him and around midnight, the father got a call on his cell phone.

The father said the kidnappers told him to pay ₹6 lakh. “I told them I was unable to pay or arrange such a big sum,” he said choking. He immediately informed the police about the call. Police tracked four people Ballu, Amit, Saghir and Ameen through the number the kidnappers had used and obtained CCTV footage, showing them picking up the boy.

During interrogation, these men told the police that after the father expressed his inability to pay, they sodomised the boy. An hour later, they took him to the river and threw him into it alive.

Police sources said Amit had kidnapped the boy outside a grocery store and took him on his scooter. Then with his accomplices he took the boy to Lal Kurti and then to Bungalow no 16 where he was sodomised.

The police have deployed PAC in Maikupurwa locality in Cantonment as a precaution. The boy’s family is Muslim, while two kidnappers are Hindu and two are Muslim.