Police in Telangana’s Mahabubabad district on Thursday arrested a 23-year old automobile mechanic who allegedly kidnapped and killed a nine-year old boy and set the body ablaze, on Sunday evening.

The charred remains of the boy were recovered from Rallapusalapalli hillocks near Annaram village, a few kilometres from Mahabubabad town on Thursday morning, after the police arrested the accused – Manda Sagar from the town.

Mahabubabad superintendent of police Nandyala Koti Reddy told reporters that Sagar had strangled the boy to death and later set the body ablaze within a couple of hours of kidnapping him. “Preliminary inquiries revealed that Sagar had kidnapped the boy only to make quick money in the form of ransom and enjoy a lavish life,” he said.

The SP said the boy, son of a local Telugu television channel reporter, went out to play with his friends at around 5.45 pm on Sunday and did not return home.

“The parents who searched frantically for the boy, came to know from his friends that an unidentified man took him on his motorbike. They immediately lodged a complaint with the town police station,” Reddy said.

At around 9.45 pm, the boy’s mother received a call from an unknown person stating that he had kidnapped her son and demanded a ransom of Rs 45 lakh to release him. “He told her the entire family was kept under observation and threatened to kill the boy, if they complained to the police,” the SP said.

He said special police teams were pressed into service to track the phone call and trace the kidnapper, but it turned out to be an internet call made through a mobile application. “It was difficult to trace the number. So, we took the help of technical experts from Cybercrime police in Hyderabad to identify the caller and his location,” he said.

In the meantime, the kidnapper continued to make calls at regular intervals using different mobile applications till Wednesday morning. He even told the parents that their son was suffering from fever and he had given him medicines.

Having no other option, the parents mobilised cash by borrowing from friends and relatives besides selling gold. As per the instructions of the kidnapper, the boy’s father went to a designated spot to hand over the money. “He waited for the whole day, but nobody turned up to pick up the cash,” the SP said.

Meanwhile, the police who questioned as many as 30 people in and around the boy’s residence, managed to track the number on Thursday morning and identified the kidnapper as Sagar. They quickly arrested him from his residence in the town and questioned him.

“During interrogation, Sagar admitted to have kidnapped the boy. The boy did not hesitate to go with him as he stayed close to his residence. However, after taking the boy to the hillocks, Sagar became nervous. Fearing that the boy would disclose his identity, he strangulated the boy to death, before setting fire to the body to destroy evidence,” Reddy said.

The SP said the accused was still being questioned whether there were any other accomplices in the kidnap and murder incident.

“As of now, Sagar is the only accused in the case. We shall disclose further details once the investigation is completed,” he said.