Hyderabad:
Hyderabad Police today claimed to have solved the mystery surrounding the murder of 11-year-old Pranav, son of a defence scientist, with the arrest of a couple hailing from Uttar Pradesh.
Pranav, a Class V student and son of V Ram Mohan, Deputy Project director in Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), was kidnapped on June 10 from outside his house at Alapatinagar and his body was found three days later in a gunny bag in an open drain.
Giving details of the investigation, city police commissioner A K Khan told reporters that one Ranjan Malik and his wife Shalini Malik had kidnapped Pranav for ransom but panicked after his father lodged a police complaint and allegedly killed him.
Police investigations revealed that the accused are from Uttar Pradesh and have been staying in the city since last year and they hatched a plan to kidnap Pranav for ransom, he said.
After luring Pranav on the pretext of playing cricket, Ranjan rang up the residence of the boy twice from two different localities and demanded Rs 10 to 15 lakh from the boy's father, the commissioner said.
The couple allegedly offered flavoured milk laced with 'bhang' to the boy who became unconscious after consuming it.
When the couple learnt about the police complaint lodged by the boy's father, they panicked and allegedly smothered the boy to death. Later, Ranjan put the body in a gunny bag and threw it in a open nala near Gudimalkapur, Khan said.
The accused after committing the offence immediately changed their residence from Gudimalkapur to Bagh Lingampally.
"But our efficient police solved the murder mystery and arrested the couple," he said.