Jashpur district police on Sunday arrested a 27-year-old daily wage labourer for allegedly murdering his cousin's four-year-old son and harvesting the child's organs after scouring social media for quick-money schemes.
Local police detained Basudev, alias Tangnu, after a three-day manhunt ended in a maize field near Lodhenapath Mahua village. The motive was financial desperation. Jashpur Senior Superintendent of Police Lal Umed Singh confirmed that the suspect admitted during interrogation that meager daily earnings drove him to search online platforms for lucrative returns, ultimately hatching a plan to harvest and trade human organs on the internet.
The child disappeared on November 5 from a settlement near the Aamatchua river dam, where his father, 36-year-old Ramjeet Ram, had moved his family a year ago for work. Ramjeet filed a missing person complaint at Sanna police station on November 7 after exhaustive searches yielded nothing.
Yet the pursuit ended in horror on Saturday. Ramjeet and relatives combed the outskirts of Lodhenapath Mahua and discovered the boy's remains wrapped in a blanket and quilt, stuffed inside a gunny sack, and partially buried in a waterlogged pit.
SSP Singh stated that Basudev, a maternal cousin from Chalni Gorrapath village who regularly visited the household, lured the four-year-old away on November 5. He bought liquor and chicken, intoxicated the boy until he lost consciousness, and slit his throat with a blade. Basudev then extracted the child's kidneys, lungs, and eyes, storing them inside a plastic bucket while attempting to arrange an online sale.
| Case Parameter | Official Status |
|---|---|
| Accused | Basudev alias Tangnu (27), Chalni Gorrapath |
| Complainant | Ramjeet Ram (36), Father of the Victim |
| Jurisdiction | Sanna Police Station, Jashpur District |
| Evidence Seized | Crime weapon, plastic bucket with organs, quilt and sack |
| Current Status | Arrested; facing murder and destruction of evidence charges |
Based on the suspect's disclosure statement, police recovered the cutting weapon, the plastic container holding the biological tissue, and packaging materials hidden nearby. Jashpur Police have forwarded the remains to the district mortuary for post-mortem and forensic verification, while digital forensics teams analyze Basudev’s mobile phone to trace any external contacts or buyers.