A 15-year-old class-X student has been arrested for assisting his mother in murdering a 12-year-old boy and concealing the body in Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu.
The plan of accused Shanthi to kidnap the boy for ransom and settle her mounting debts went awry after she and her son Vivek (name changed) smothered Vinoth Kumar, son of CRPF head constable Ramakrishnan, to death.
A few months ago, Shanthi, 33, of Velagananthal had siphoned off Rs 4 lakh from three SHGs in Kalasapakkam village. Villagers confronted her and took it in writing that she will pay back.
To raise the money, Shanthi plotted the kidnapping.
“Vivek took Vinoth to his house on the pretext of playing games when his parents were away. After he entered the house, Shanthi and Vivek tied him up. When the boy starting screaming they smothered him on October 20,” said investigation officer V. Sekar.
They buried the body behind their house.
Later, they staged a kidnap drama with the help of a family friend, Subash of Purasaiwalkam in Chennai. However, the plan backfired as police got a vital lead and cracked the case within 40 days.
“We located the origin of the two phone calls for ransom and also monitored Shanthi’s phone,” said Ballullah, DSP of Pollur.
Following preliminary enquiry, police nabbed Subash and his friend Pasupathi, 29, of Tirunindravoor in Chennai. After Subash confessed, the cops arrested Shanthi.