Dhenkanal: A mentally challenged youth was beaten to death by his abductors after his father failed to pay a ransom of Rs 2 lakh, the police said Thursday.
The deceased was identified as Sangram Prusty (19), son of Ganesh Chandra Prusty of Banamaliprasad area under Dhenkanal civic body limits. Ganesh works as a clerk in the block education officer’s (BEO) office in Parajang. The accused were Sangram’s friends and their accomplices.
This was stated here by SP Santosh Kumar Nayak Thursday. A minor boy of Banamaliprasad was arrested while Ugrasen Pradhan (19), Jeetendra Sahu and Amarendra Pattnaik alias Mitu of Jharpada in Bhubaneswar have been detained.
SDPO Sk. Abdul Karim and Town IIC Namita Nayak conducted an investigation with the help of a forensic team.
The matter came to the fore after police recovered the body, covered with twigs and leaves, from a cashew orchard in the wee hours of Thursday. The accused had demanded Rs 2 lakh ransom from Sangram’s father after abducting him and beat him up to death after his father failed to meet their demand.
Police said Sangram, the younger of two sons of Ganesh, was a mentally challenged and dropped out after matriculation.
The incident occurred when he had been to Banamaliprasad market December 3 evening. Family members grew apprehensive after he failed to return home by 8 pm. They called him on his mobile phone but it was switched off. They searched for him in all possible locations but in vain.
The next day someone made a call to Ganesh from his son’s phone and demanded Rs 2 lakh as ransom. They threatened to kill his son if he fails to pay the ransom. Shocked, Ganesh with the help of some people lodged a complaint at the Town police station.
Police registered a kidnapping case and launched a manhunt to trace Sangram by tracking his mobile phone. The same day Ganesh received another call on his mobile phone and the caller made similar demands. Ganesh also informed the police about the second call.
Police came to know that a youth had talked to a person in Jharpada area of Bhubaneswar the whole night. Police arrested Amamrendra from Jharpada who after reaching Banamaliprasad identified a minor boy as the caller who had talked to him on Sangram’s phone December 3 night.
During interrogation, the minor broke down and admitted to his crime. Sangram’s body was recovered from the cashew orchard with bloodstains visible nearby. Four empty liquor bottles, empty gutkha sachets and a lathi were also seized from the spot.