Vikram, a former security guard, was arrested for the kidnapping and murder of a five-year-old girl
He then allegedly called her family, demanding a ransom of Rs 20 lakh. Her mother had apparently asked her son to call his sister home around 7.30pm.
He returned saying she would be back in five minutes, a police official said. He refused, police said. Her hands and legs were tied, and two bricks had been tied around her waist, police said.
The accused, a former security guard at the gated community where the girl lived, allegedly kidnapped and murdered her a day after he was removed from his job over poor conduct. He allegedly drowned the child in a water sump in the community’s cellar after tying her hands and legs and weighing her down with bricks. Her family began searching for her after she failed to return home. The family had begun looking for the girl after she failed to return from the clubhouse. When the family could not find her at the clubhouse, concern turned to panic. The accused allegedly called again and asked the family to transfer the ransom to a bank account. they insisted that he show the girl on a video call to establish that she was safe Although the family agreed to pay. The family subsequently alerted police, who rushed to the community. By then, the accused had switched off his phone. Residents examined CCTV footage from the gated community and spotted the girl leaving the clubhouse, with a man following her at some distance. Investigators used the footage to piece together the sequence of events. Acting on the guard’s statement, police and residents searched the clubhouse cellar and found the girl’s body in a water sump.
The incident took place on Saturday evening when the girl went to watch Bathukamma celebrations at the clubhouse.