19-yr-old kills 13-yr-old cousin, makes ransom call, says MP police

Police said that a property dispute and not ransom was the motive for the murder.

The body of a 13-year-old boy who was allegedly killed by his 9-year-old cousin was recovered from a well Sunday morning, police in Madhya Pradesh’s Satna said.

The teenager was murdered immediately after he was kidnapped and his body was thrown into a well.(Getty Images/iStockphoto)

According to police, Vikas Prajapati, was reported missing on Friday. On Saturday, his father Amit Prajapati, a resident of Chaurhat village, received a ransom call from a man who said he had kidnapped the boy and wanted ₹10 lakh for setting him free.

Satna superintendent of police, Riyaz Iqbal said, “Police have arrested Tejbali Prajapati, cousin of the deceased in connection with the murder while his accomplice is absconding. Police have also arrested two others who made available a SIM card to Tejbali.”

He said ransom was not the motive behind the crime. In fact, the boy was murdered immediately after kidnapping and his body was thrown into a well near the neighbouring Banshipur village. The ransom call was made to mislead police and distract its attention from the criminal.

He said a property dispute between the two families was the reason behind the crime.

The SP said police suspected the involvement of people close to the deceased’s family in the crime. “The financial condition of father of the deceased was such that he was not in a position to pay for ransom even 20000 of rupees; second, the SIM card used for making the ransom call was purchased from a shop at the same village and third, the criminal asked father of the deceased to give the ransom money near a temple which was situated at the same village,” Iqbal said.

He said police zeroed in on Tejbali Prajapati, cousin of the deceased, whose behaviour was suspicious right from day one. He confessed during interrogation that he committed the crime.

“Tejbali told the police that he abducted Vikas and took him to the neighbouring Banshipur village. He tied his hands and legs threw him in the well. He returned to the well again on Saturday to check if Vikas was dead. When he found that Vikas was dead he made the ransom call to Vikas’s father to divert the attention police from him,” the SP said.

A distant relative of Tejbali, Dhanilal also helped him in the crime. Police are trying to nab him.