Hyderabad, Oct 12 A former security guard of a residential gated community here was on Monday arrested for allegedly kidnapping and murdering a five-year-old girl and demanding Rs 20 lakh ransom from her family, police said.
The girl’s body was found inside a water sump in the gated community’s clubhouse cellar in the Kowkoor area on Sunday.
The girl’s father is a research scientist at an agri company.
Her grandfather and father had received calls on October 10 evening from an unidentified person who claimed that the child was in his custody and demanded Rs 20 lakh ransom to hand her over.
Based on a complaint by the girl’s father, a case was registered at Bollarum police station and an investigation was initiated into the suspected kidnapping.
During the search operation, the child’s body was found in the cellar.
A former security guard identified as Vikram Kumar, who worked at the gated community from September 22 to October 6, was found absconding and emerged as the suspect behind the kidnapping and murder.
Kumar, a native of Nalanda district of Bihar, was apprehended on October 11.
“During interrogation, he confessed to committing the murder of the child as part of a premeditated plan to demand a ransom of Rs 20 lakh from her parents,” Malkajgiri Police Commissioner B Sumathi told reporters.
The accused, motivated by greed and an aspiration to become wealthy in a short span without engaging in regular labour, allegedly hatched a plan to kidnap the girl and extort a substantial amount from her parents, she said.
On October 10, Kumar managed to gain entry into the gated community claiming about some work as part of Bathukamma festival celebrations at the clubhouse, police said.
However, after locating the girl, he allegedly realised that he would be unable to manage or control her while carrying out the kidnapping and ransom plan, the Commissioner said.
“Consequently, he decided to kill her. After committing the murder, the accused concealed the child’s body in an unused water sump located in the cellar, apparently choosing the spot because it was not frequented by the residents of the gated community, with the intention of avoiding detection,” she said.
Based on preliminary investigation, she said the accused killed the girl by strangulation.
“There is no other motive (apart from demand for money). His idea was to kill the child and demand ransom. It was a very secluded place (cellar)…no CCTV cameras were there,” she said.
Kumar had used the SIM card of another security guard at the gated community to make the ransom calls to the victim’s family, Sumathi said.
The accused, on the pretext that the girl’s uncle was calling her, took her to the cellar and killed her, police said.
Based on CCTV footage, technical and other evidence, the accused was apprehended, police said.
Meanwhile, family members of the deceased girl, relatives and several others, including residents of the gated community gathered at the DCP office and raised slogans demanding justice for the victim, completion of the investigation soon and to ensure stringent punishment for the accused.
They carried placards/banners that read “No mercy for cruelty” along with the deceased girl’s photo. They further demanded that the accused be hanged publicly on the road and that he should be immediately punished.
Some of them alleged that Kumar entered the gated community with the help of others and sought an investigation into that matter.
“We want justice for the child. He (Kumar) should be hanged…we want to see him (hanged). Whoever supported the accused should also be punished. He is not alone and others who helped him should also be punished,” they demanded.
They said they have complete trust in the police department.
The investigation will be completed at the earliest, and the trial will be pursued before a Fast Track Court and pursued diligently to seek capital punishment for the accused, police said.
The Commissioner said the tragic incident has raised serious public concern and highlights that gated communities cannot rely solely on access control and security personnel for safety.
Ensuring residential security requires thorough background verification of personnel, effective supervision, vigilant residents and close coordination between residential associations and the police, Sumathi said.
The Malkajgiri Police urged all RWAs, apartment associations and residents to voluntarily participate in ‘Mee Suraksha – Domestic Helpers Verification Initiative’ and ‘Nenu Saitham 2.0 – CCTV Surveillance Programme’.
Awareness meetings are being conducted across residential communities to emphasise background verification and encourage the registration of domestic helpers, security personnel and watchmen to strengthen residential safety, police said.
(PTI News)
