5-year-old killed for money to buy a bike in Pune

The authorities in Pune have taken into custody two persons - one of them a minor- for kidnapping and killing a 5-year-old boy after holding him for a ransom.

Reports, Tuesday, claimed that the minor Shubh Rawal was kidnapped and strangled to death by a 19-year-old hotel management student Parminder Singh with the help of a 15-year-old class 10 student late on Sunday.

The two have been detained and booked for murder.

Pune police claims that the main accused Parminder, who worked part-time at a shopping mall, dreamt of buying a motorbike, which possibly led him to commit the crime.

“Parminder, resident of Defence Security Corpse quarters, Ramnagar, kidnapped Shubh Bhupendra Raval last evening and afterwards strangulated him and dumped the body on the ARDE hill,” Ajay Kadam, Senior Police Inspector, Chatushringi Police Station was quote as telling the reporters.

After its initial investigation into the matter, the police claim that Parminder and his accomplice hoped to make big money by abducting the only child of what they believed were rich parents.

Shubh's parents, Sukeshree and Bhupendra Rawal are scientists, working at the High Energy Materials Research Laboratory (HEMRL) and Armament Research and Development Establishment (ARDE) in Pune respectively.

During his interrogation, Parminder has narrated to police how he kidnapped Subh on that fateful Sunday evening.

Parminder told the police that he kidnapped Subh, who was playing near the Ganpati mandal at the ARDE complex with friends. He lured him to buy a chocolate and when the unsuspecting innocent boy agreed to come with him, he took Subh to the nearby Pashan Hills.

There, Parminder asked Shubh to give his father’s mobile number, however, the minor refused to oblige him and instead started crying.

This angered Parminder, who, in a fit of rage, allegedly strangled Shubh's neck and later, gagged him to death with a handkerchief.

The police have arrested Parminder and his associate, a Class X student of the Army Public School in Pune Cantonment and the duo has been booked for murder following a complaint lodged by Shubh's father.

With Agency Inputs