College teen found dead, 4 accused include his best friend

Bengaluru: Dead body of a college teen was recovered on Friday near a Bengaluru lake, days after he sent a video asking his parents to provide 50 lakhs to his kidnappers.

The police have arrested 4 men in this connection, which includes one of the student’s best friends. They reportedly took the police to the place where they had buried the 19-year-old, Sharath, reports NDTV.

Sharath was kidnapped on September 12 while riding his new motorcycle, accompanied by his friend, Vishal. The police said today that the student was taken in a Swift Dzire by his friend.

Sharath, whose father, Niranjan Kumar is a senior Income Tax official, was killed that night by Vishal and his accomplices said the police, but not before he sent his parents a WhatsApp video in which he asked them to pay the ransom.

There was another video found but was not sent, where Sharath warned that his kidnappers were armed and were threatening to abduct his older sister next.

The 19-year-old was strangled with a nylon rope, the police said today. His body was then dumped in a lake but rose up to the top, after which the attackers tied stones to it and tried to sink it again. Later, they put it in a jute bag and buried it near the lake, the police said today.

The one who is identified as Vishal, spent days with Sharath’s family as they waited for news on him, said the police. It was cellphone records that helped establish his links to the crime, the police said.