3-Year-Old's Charred Body Found, Mother-Son Duo Admit To Revenge Killing

A 3-year-old missing boy's charred body was found by police near his home in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. According to local media, a mother-son duo was arrested Tuesday in connection with the child's disappearance and death.

Police in the city of Bhopal said they found the body of the boy, identified by his first name Varun, two days after he was reported missing Sunday. The boy reportedly went outside his home to buy chocolates when he was kidnapped. When the boy did not return, his family panicked and filed a missing report.

Varun, son of a local resident Vipin Meena, was kidnapped when he went out of his home at Baragarh in Chichali area. Sunita Solanki, 40, and her son Shubham Solanki, 20, were arrested Tuesday evening, senior officer Irshad Wali told reporters.

"Sunita put the charred body in an empty house nearby. Shubham helped her in the act. When the Solankis had gone out last month, their house was burgled and they suspected Varun's family. In an act of vengeance, they killed the boy," Wali said.

Sources close to the ongoing investigation said that during questioning, one of the accused admitted to serving the boy food laced with a poisonous powder used to kill insects and ants. The child's body was then set ablaze inside an abandoned house.

The state's Chief Minister Kamal Nath expressed his sorrow over the death of the minor.

"Those behind the crime have already been detained by cops," Nath wrote in a tweet. "Efforts will be made to charge-sheet the accused at the earliest and fast track the trial in the case. The government will make all efforts to ensure that the culprits get harshest possible punishment."