Charred body of abducted minor recovered, ex-tuition teacher held

PATNA: Charred body of the 12-year-old boy, who was allegedly abducted on March 16 from near his house in rural Patna, was recovered near Bihta ESIC hospital on Sunday, police said, adding that a former tuition teacher of the deceased has been arrested in the case

PATNA: Charred body of the 12-year-old boy, who was allegedly abducted on March 16 from near his house in rural Patna, was recovered near Bihta ESIC hospital on Sunday, police said, adding that a former tuition teacher of the deceased has been arrested in the case.

Based on a tip-off, the accused was arrested from the West Boring Road area, police said. (Picture for representation)

According to police, following a first information report (FIR) lodged by the victim’s father Raj Kishor, a school teacher, on March 16, raids were being conducted and several people, including relatives of the deceased Tushar Raj, and his friends were interrogated.

Police said that the abductor used the boy’s mobile phone and demanded ₹40 lakh as ransom through a WhatsApp call and text messages and then switched off the phone. The kidnapper also threatened his father not to reveal the incident to anyone.

“During the raids, police recovered the charred body of Tushkar Raj near Bihta ESIC hospital. As per scientific investigation, the police suspected Mukesh Kumar, a resident of Kishunpur under Bihta police station behind the incident,” said Patna SSP Rajeev Mishra.

The SSP said that while gathering information about Mukesh, it came to light that he was in debt and was absconding for several days. “Raids were conducted at Bihta, Naubatpur, Paliganj, Maner, and Khaugual, and finally based on a tip-off, Mukesh was arrested from the West Boring Road area under S K Puri police station,” the SSP said.

The SSP said Tushar’s cell phone was recovered from the possession of the accused.

“He admitted his involvement in the crime. He said that he was running a coaching institute and a school but it was shut down in 2020. He said that he was under ₹20 lakh debt and hence he kidnapped Tushar, whom he had taught along with his two sisters few years ago,” the SSP said.

“Mukesh had demanded ₹40 lakh as ransom and after some time, he demanded ₹30 lakh for the safe release of the boy,” the SSP said.

Police said that the accused killed the boy after two hours of kidnapping. “He was strangulated to death and then he was charred to conceal the identity,” the SSP said.