Kidnapped Andhra schoolboy found murdered

Hyderabad, April 20 (IANS) A 12-year-old boy, kidnapped four days ago while he was on his way to school, was Friday found murdered in Andhra Pradesh's East Godavari district, police said.

The body of Naga Vivek, a Class 7 student, was recovered by police from Korangi Lake in Tallarevu mandal near Amlapuram town, about 500 km from here, a senior police officer told IANS from the Amlapuram police station.

According to police, Ravi Chandra, a B.Tech. student in Amlapuram arrested from Visakhapatnam Thursday, broke down during interrogation and confessed that he kidnapped Vivek for ransom and killed him.

Chandra told police that he strangulated Vivek to death on the day of kidnapping, fearing that he would be arrested if the boy spoke to police.

After killing the boy, according to Chandra, he threw the body in the Korangi Lake and fled to Visakhapatnam. He, however, continued to make calls to Vivek's family demanding Rs.500,000 in ransom, the Amlapuram police officer said.

Vivek, son of a businessman, was kidnapped while he was on his way to the school on April 17.

The news of Vivek's killing Friday sent shock waves in Amlapuram town where a group of residents began a protest. Some people claimed that police failed to respond immediately to Vivek's kidnapping, which led to his murder.

According to police, the families of both the kidnapper and the victim shared close ties.