The body of a 19-year-old college student, who was kidnapped earlier this month, has been found near a lake in Bengaluru just days after he was seen in a WhatsApp video asking his parents to provide Rs 50 lakh as ransom for his release.
Sharath, a second-year student of automobile engineering, had left his house on his new motorbike at around 6.30 pm earlier this month saying that he was going to meet his friends. When Sharath did not return home until 8.30 pm, his parents got worried and filed a case with police.
Earlier this week, Sharath's parents received a video on WhatsApp in which their son was seen asking for Rs 50 lakh as ransom for his release. However, he seemed to be calm in the video. The 19-year-old's father, Niranjan Kumar, is a senior Income Tax official.
"The boy's mother called him many times but the calls went unanswered. Today, his parents and sister received a WhatsApp video from his mobile phone, in which the boy is seen asking them to arrange Rs 50 lakh towards his ransom," a police officer associated with the investigation was quoted by India Today as saying.
The kidnappers killed Sharath after finding out that his parents filed a police complaint. They dumped his body near Rachenahalli lake in Kengeri. The 19-year-old was reportedly kidnapped by one of his relatives and his associates.
Two days after the murder, Sharath's body was found floating in the lake.
