Emotions run high as villagers demand action against rampant gambling, betting

Hanagodu: A nine-year-old boy, who was kidnapped at Hanagodu village near Hunsur on the night of  Nov. 3, was found dead in the neighbouring fields with strangulation marks on his throat. The kidnappers had placed a demand of Rs. 4 lakh ransom to release the child.

An FIR had been filed at Hunsur Rural Police Station.

The child Karthik, studying at an English-medium convent in the village, was playing with his friends in front of his house.

After playing, the boy went to Hanagodu Circle to buy crackers for Deepavali and he was kidnapped at around 7.30 pm. His father Nagaraj, a vegetable vendor of the village, received a ransom call where Rs. 4 lakh was demanded. Later, a Police complaint was lodged by the boy’s father.

Suspecting the involvement of local villagers who were known to the family, the Police had rounded off five persons on the same night after a thorough search for the boy.

Meanwhile, the kidnappers were alerted by the Police move and fearing that their identities would be exposed, strangulated the boy and threw the body amidst bushes near the Kuntakeri Lake at Hanagodu village. The body was discovered in the afternoon of Nov. 4.

Hearing the news, hundreds of villagers staged a protest demanding the immediate arrest of the kidnappers. As SP R. Chethan’s vehicle approached the village, the protesters slept on the road registering their protest. The SP’s vehicle was released only after assurances were made that the culprits would be arrested soon. 

Based on the mobile tower location from where the kidnappers had made the ransom call, the Police have taken one Javaraiah into custody along with 10 other suspects. While all the others have been released, Javaraiah is still in Police custody. The Police have, however, not legalised the arrest and are still interrogating him.

As Javaraiah and other suspects were taken to Kuntakeri Lake where the body was found, villagers demanded that the kidnappers must be shot dead. The Police had a tough time in controlling the mob as emotions ran high.

Police said that Javaraiah, a resident of Dasanapura, was in deep debts as he was addicted to gambling had borrowed money to cater to his vices. Yesterday too, hundreds of villagers staged a protest under the leadership of Gavadagere Gurulinga Jangama Devara Mutt Seer Nataraja Swamiji and demanded the Police to take action against betting and gambling that are rampant in Hanagodu village and surrounding areas.

Hunsur MLA H.P. Manjunath visited the protest site and assured that he would call a public meeting with the Police and villagers next week where measures would be chalked out to take action against gambling and betting.