Man held for kidnapping, killing 7-year old boy in Ganjam district

A 30-year-old man was arrested Wednesday for allegedly kidnapping and killing a seven-year-old boy in Odisha's Ganjam district four days ago, a senior police officer said. The minor's mother had filed a missing complaint on January 12 after his son did not return from school, following which an investigation was launched into the case, Berhampur Superintendent of Police Pinak Mishra said.

In her complaint, Nirupa Rani Acharya also said that her friend Debasish Panda, who had taken his son out for school, was nowhere to be found. Based on the complaint, a police team nabbed Panda, who works in a private steel plant, after tracking his mobile phone in Sonepur district, the SP said.

"During interrogation, Panda confessed to his crime and told us where to look for Asish Ansuman's body. A student of Class I in a private English-medium school here, Ansuman's decomposed body was recovered near a temple, about 30 km from here," he said. Though the exact reason of the murder was yet to be ascertained, it is suspected that "one-sided love" of the accused for the child's mother might have led to the crime, Mishra claimed.

"Panda is suspected to have made a failed attempt to develop a relationship with the Ansuman's mother. He probably killed the boy on January 12 considering him to be a hurdle," he said. During the investigation, it was found that the accused had stoned the boy the boy to death near Tara Tarini temple and fled the area, the SP added.

(With inputs from agencies.)