2 held for abducting, killing boy

Nagpur, Aug 14 (UNI) Two people were arrested for the alleged kidnap and murder by strangulation of a 14-year-old boy here today.

Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime) Anup Kumar Singh told reporters that the two suspects, Ashish Mategaonkar (36) and Dhanraj Daware (30), had kidnapped and later strangulated Swanand Dhume (14) here last week.

Mategaonkar, who was accompanied by Daware in a car, picked up the child from his tuition class late on August 7, he said.

Mategaonkar was a friend of Swanand's father, Dr Makrand Dhume, and had planned to ask for a substantial ransom, However, the plans went awry when the abductor accidentally throttled the child's throat while trying to gag him with a piece of cloth, Mr Singh said.

Mategaonkar and Daware then strangulated Swanand and abandoned his body on the outskirts of the city, the Additional Commissioner of Police said.

Mategaonkar, a caterer by profession, had turned into drunkard and was in a financial crunch, Mr Singh said, adding that he hatched the conspiracy after learning that Dr Dhume had received a substantial amount of cash from the sale of a piece of land.

Police nailed Mategaonkar after a scrutiny of mobile telephone records which showed that he was not at the place where he claimed to have been when Dr Dhume called him for help in tracing his son, shortly after the child went missing, Mr Singh added.

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