Bengaluru: Swami Abhinava Halashri of Hirehadagali taluk in Vijayanagara taluk, was arrested in Cuttack in Odisha on Tuesday and remanded in Bengaluru CCB Division police officers for 10 days. The pontiff is suspected to have been involved in the case of duping businessman Govindababu Poojary from Byndoor in Udupi district of crores of rupees with an assurance that Poojary would be given the BJP local ticket for the last Assembly elections.

Bengaluru CCB Division police officers had arrested the pontiff, who is the third suspect in the duping case, when he had been travelling under disguise and travelling in a train in Cuttack in Odisha on Tuesday. The police officers had also appealed before court to be granted custody of the pontiff.

On Wednesday, the Bengaluru 19th ACMM Court remanded Swami Abhinava Halashri in the custody of the Bengaluru CCB Division police officers for a period of 10 days, till September 29.

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Sultanpur (PTI): A debt-ridden neighbour allegedly kidnapped and murdered an 11-year-old boy boy at Sultanpur, police said on Wednesday.

The accused, Asif alias Sonu, demanded a ransom of Rs 5,00,000 for releasing Osama alias Sahil to repay his debts, Kotwali police station SHO Naradmuni Singh said.

"The incident took place in the Gandhinagar locality of Sultanpur. The victim's father, Mohd Shakeel, said his son went missing on Monday night after he left to attend a wedding procession. Despite searches, there was no trace of the child," the SHO said.

On Wednesday morning, Osama's body with strangulation marks was found at the residence of the accused whom the police arrested, he said.

Asif, who lives in the same neighbourhood as the victim, exploited the trust built between the two families to carry out the crime, the officer said.

The killing of the minor boy has triggered outrage in the area with the residents demanding stringent punishment for the accused.

The victim's family has called for death penalty for Asif.