A tailor was arrested on Monday for allegedly kidnapping a nine-year-old boy for ransom of Rs 23 lakh with which he wanted to build a house and murdering him in Thane district of Maharashtra, police said.
The boy, identified only as Ibadat, went missing when he was returning from a mosque in Goregaon village where he had gone for evening prayers on Sunday.
Prima facie, the accused is known to the victim. He probably lured the victim to accompany him under some pretext, a Badlapur police station official said.
Police are investigating the exact circumstances under which the boy was kidnapped.
"The kidnapper called up the family of the boy and demanded Rs 23 lakh for releasing him. He told them that he wanted money to build a house. Strangely, he disconnected the call abruptly," the official said.
Police launched a search for the boy after receiving the complaint on Sunday but failed to trace him or the kidnapper.
"On Monday afternoon, Ibadat's body was found stuffed in a sack hidden in the home of a villager," the official said.
However, it is not clear whether the arrested accused was the same villager or someone else.
Police have registered an FIR under section 364 (Kidnapping or abducting in order to murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), said Badlapur police station assistant inspector Govind Patil.
He said the accused is a tailor from the same locality of Goregaon village in Badalpur of Thane district.