He did not want anyone to know about the phone calls he used to make to his girlfriend. That was when Manda Sagar knew, through a friend, about a mobile app of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology.
He allegedly used the same mobile app to make ransom calls to the parents of nine-year-old Deekshit Reddy in Mahabubabad town.
In fact, usage of this mobile app by the accused in the boy’s kidnap and murder became a hurdle to the investigators to reach him.
Though investigation revealed that the boy had been killed before his parents approached police about his disappearance, Sagar had been roaming in Mahabubabad town. “And he was making ransom calls to the boy’s parents even as multiple special teams of police were struggling to understand from where he was making calls,” a police officer said on condition of anonymity.
Sagar downloaded the app nearly a year ago to speak with his girlfriend. The app enables user to make calls using VoIP technology. A private number, other than that of the call maker’s, displays on the receiver’s mobile phone. This makes it difficult for the receiver or others to track the caller’s number.
Sagar reportedly secured two sleeping pills from a Registered Medical Practitioner after hatching the plot to kidnap the boy. He befriended the boy giving chocolates earlier.
On the day of kidnap, he requested the boy to accompany him to a nearby petrol bunk to purchase some oil.
He took the boy to a hillock where he convinced him to drink water laced with sleeping pill.
When the boy woke up after a couple of hours, Sagar allegedly throttled him to death. He came back to his house and went to the house of boy’s uncle Manoj Reddy to learn about the reaction of boy’s parents.
Sagar runs a two-wheeler spare parts shop. Sitting at the shop, he made ransom calls to the boy’s father Ranjith Reddy and asked him to come to a junction (called Three Shops) with money.
“He could see Ranjith sitting from his shop but grew suspicious of policemen in plainclothes moving there,” an officer said.
