Ranchi police arrest man for killing RJD leader’s 8-yr-old son

Ranchi police have arrested Sanjeev Kumar Panda (27) for killing eight-year-old Shaurya Kumar, only son of RJD supremo Lalu Yadav bailer Raju Gope and a student of II class D.A.V. Gandhinagar.

Panda abducted the boy on March 3 from Edalhat under Bariat police station in the Jharkhand capital with the intention of collecting some ransom to clear his loan, but when he found it difficult to control the boy who raised the alarm for rescue, he killed him the same day. Killing the boy, Panda dumped him in a jute bag in a pond at Lalgutwa, about 12 km from the abduction site under Nagri police station.

Panda's arrest could be possible on Wednesday after police found the boy's body on March 7 and formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to identify and arrest the culprit. Panda, a native of Koderma, confessed to his crime and based on his statement, the police recovered the items he used to kill and disposed of the boy's body.

Senior Superintendent of Police Kaushal Kishore shared the breakthrough at a press conference today. He said the police had been active since March 4 after Gope registered a case of kidnapping at the Bariat police station based on CCTV footage showing the boy being taken away in a white car after he sometimes spoke to its driver.

The SSP said that Panda was an old tenant of Gope and the boys knew her well.