Ambala: Boy kidnaps five-year-old for ransom, kills her

A Class XI student was arrested at Boh village near Ambala Cantonment early Thursday for allegedly abducting and killing a five-year-old girl after demanding ransom of Rs 20 lakh from her parents.

The juvenile had hidden the body of Vaishnavi Sood in a water cooler, police said.

Vaishnavi was the eldest daughter of the employer of the juvenile’s brother-in-law, who had gone to Azamgarh with his wife. The juvenile shifted from Uttar Pradesh to Ambala four months ago.

Vaishnavi’s father Amit Sood said, “When our daughter did not return from her uncle’s shop, my wife Minakshi informed all the neighbours. The juvenile joined the search for more than an hour. Subsequently, one of the neighbours, Pawan, received a call. He handed over the phone to one of my relatives. The caller demanded ransom of Rs 20 lakh and said that he would call again on Thursday.” The family rushed to the police and lodged a complaint.

A police officer said, “We found that the call was made from the same locality. We questioned the neighbours and zeroed in on the juvenile, who confessed to the kidnap and murder of the girl.”

Ambala SP Abhishek Jorwal said, “The victim’s body was kept in a water cooler. We recovered it following the disclosure of the juvenile.”

According to the police, the juvenile was inspired by movies to make easy money and hatched the plan to kidnap the girl.

To prevent her from raising an alarm, he allegedly strangulated the five-year-old, drowned her in a tub and hid the body in the cooler.

The police have found a difference of one year in the age of the juvenile in his school certificate and Aadhaar card, and decided to treat him as a 17-year-old.

The victim’s mother said, “The juvenile does not deserve mercy and I appeal to the government and judiciary to award him strict punishment.”