Tiruvallur, December 20: A 35-year-old woman identified as Rekha was arrested on Monday, December 18 for kidnapping and killing an eight-year-old boy and later dumping his body in a gunny bag along the Tada-Kalahasti Road in Andhra Pradesh. S Hanish, from Tamil Nadu's Palavedu village in Tiruvallur went missing on Saturday and his body was recovered by police two days later after witnesses alerted the police. On Monday, police arrested Rekha and after preliminary probe found that she was part of child-lifting gang.

According to TNIE report, Hanish went missing on Saturday while he was playing in an adjacent empty field. Hanish's father Suresh immediately lodged a missing compliant with the police. Meanwhile, two youngsters informed the police that they had spotted the boy in the company of his neighbour, Rekha. By this time, the police had also recovered a CCTV footage that showed Rekha riding with a boy and a man on a two-wheeler when they had an accident near Tiruvallur-Andhra Pradesh border. The video showed her engaged in a dispute with the autorickshaw driver following the accident. Tamil Nadu: Newborn Abducted From Vellore Government Hospital, Rescued; Woman Culprit Arrested.

At this point, onlookers had started gathering at the spot and Rekha got nervous. Two youths present at the scene sensed something was wrong with the situation involving the boy. However, she hurriedly escaped by saying that the boy was being taken to her hometown with the permission of his parents. Police said that after the accident the child got scared and started to scream. In the meantime, she also got a call from Harish's father asking where he was, which worried her more, reported Times of India. Tamil Nadu Horror: Woman Kidnapped and Gangraped; 5 Including Juvenile Held.

As time elapsed, Hanish grew restless, and the accused became concerned about the youths who had seen them near the border. Consequently, they resorted to strangling the boy, slashing his throat, and abandoning his body along the Tada-Kalahasti Road. After committing the crime, Rekha returned to the village, acting as if nothing had happened. The villagers nabbed her and handed her over to police. After an initial inquiry, the police found that Rekha was involved in a broader child abduction network.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 20, 2023 01:24 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).