Chikhali murder case: Kidnapper wanted ₹1 lakh, killed child without making ransom call

PUNE The Pimpri-Chinchwad police who arrested a 26-year-old man for the murder of an eight-year-old child who was found dead on Sunday night, said that the child was kidnapped for ransom

PUNE The Pimpri-Chinchwad police who arrested a 26-year-old man for the murder of an eight-year-old child who was found dead on Sunday night, said that the child was kidnapped for ransom.

The Pimpri-Chinchwad police who arrested a 26-year-old man for the murder of an eight-year-old child who was found dead on Sunday night, said that the child was kidnapped for ransom. (REPRESENTATIVE IMAGE)

ACP Sanjay Shinde of Pimpri-Chinchwad police who addressed a media briefing on the case on Wednesday said that the man who was arrested for the murder of an 8-year-old boy in Chikhali was found to have done so in order to seek money from the child’s parents. However, he allegedly killed the child before the ransom call was made.

The deceased child was identified as Lakshman Baburam Devasi, 8, a resident of the same vicinity where his body was found. The arrested man was identified as Bapilahmed Raees Lashkar, 26, a resident of Hargudevasti in Kudalwadi area of Pimpri-Chinchwad. The man is a native of Solai in Silchar area of Assam, according to the police.

Lashkar had evacuated the premise of a room he was living in, on April 14, after having lived there for the past 2-3 years, the police said. Another family had already moved into the space. He was, therefore, among the 8 people detained for questioning after the case was registered.

“He is a CNC developer at a local company and wanted to move away from it. From the interrogation that we have conducted so far, he wanted to ask for ransom but the child fell, injured himself, and started crying before he could make the call. He took the child to a shed and tried to hush him but when that did not work, he hit him with a brick and killed him,” said additional commissioner Shinde.

The police have found CCTV footage of the man walking with the child and also carrying him in his arms, according to the officials present at the media briefing.

“It was a joint effort. The police station officials detained them, including Lashkar, and the gunda squad officials interrogated them,” said Assistant police commissioner Prashant Amrutkar of Pimpri-Chinchwad crime branch.

The parents of the child own a grocery store in the area and were well known to the Lashkar. There were statements made by a security guard that Lashkar had tried to lure the child with a watch for a couple of days. However, the police have not confirmed it, pending the police custody remand and interrogation of Lashkar.

A case under Sections 302 and 364 of Indian Penal Code was registered against him at Chikhali police station.