Man kidnaps, kills cousin to cover IPL betting losses

The 13-year-old son of a diamond broker was allegedly kidnapped for ransom and later killed by his own cousin, who needed money to cover the losses he incurred while betting on IPL cricket matches, police said.

Aditya Rankha's cousin -- Himanshu Ranka, 28, and his accomplice Brijesh Sangvi, who happens to be a friend of Aditya's elder brother -- were on Tuesday arrested in connection with the crime.

According to police, Aditya's father Jitendra got a phone call from a public booth on Monday wherein the caller, who identified himself as Rakesh, demanded Rs 30 lakh for releasing his son.

Jitendra then called up his wife and enquired about Aditya. She told him that someone had called her and asked to send Aditya to collect the keys given by his father (Jitendra).

The boy's father later went to the VP road police station in central Mumbai along with Himanshu, unaware that the latter was involved in the kidnapping, and filed a case on Monday.

"We started questioning Himanshu on the basis of suspicion, and he broke down and said that he conspired to kidnap the boy," a police official said.

Police later arrested Brijesh, who had actually kidnapped the boy.

Himanshu, an MBA, and Brijesh -- both residents of Girgaum in central Mumbai -- were businessmen.

"They were also involved in betting on the ongoing IPL matches in which they lost money. It was then that they decided to kidnap Aditya and seek a ransom," the official said.

Fearing that Aditya may identify them after his release, they killed him.

"They took the boy to nearby Raigad district, killed him and burnt his body," the official added.

Both of them will be produced in court later on Wednesday.