Half-Burnt Body Of Class X Student Kidnapped From Jharsuguda Found In Odisha’s Bargarh; 2 Arrested

Jharsuguda: Police on Wednesday recovered semi-burnt body of Class X student Samarth Agrawal, who was allegedly kidnapped for Rs 50 lakh ransom from his apartment in Odisha’s Jharsuguda town on Monday, near a river under Bheden police limits in Odisha’s Bargarh district.

Addressing a press meet here, Jharsuguda SP Parmar Smit Parshottamdas said that the kidnappers had demanded Rs 50 lakh from boy’s father Sunit Agrawal. “But his semi-burnt body was found near Jhaijora river near Deshbhatli this morning,” he said.

The SP informed that the investigation revealed that two/three people, who were travelling in a blue car, dumped the half-burnt body near the river. Two persons have been arrested in connection with the incident, he added.

“We apprehended two persons – Amit Kumar Sharma and Dinesh Agarwal – on the intervening night of March 28 and 29 after scanning CCTV footage, other electronic evidence and information from the neighbouring district. The subsequent interrogation revealed that Amit Kumar Sharma was close to the family of the missing boy. Since Sharma was known to the victim, he accompanied him without suspecting any foul play,” he said.

The accused murdered the boy early on March 28 and disposed of the body in Bargarh, he said.

In his complaint, the boy’s father had claimed that his 14-year old son was kidnapped from his apartment at Sarabahal in Jharsuguda town on Monday afternoon. He then had received a ransom call from an unknown person, asking for Rs 50 lakh to release his son. After receiving a complaint, three special teams of the police were formed to trace the missing boy.

Further investigation is underway to ascertain the motive behind this kidnapping-murder, he added.