Overview
- Ayush Kesarwani vanished from outside his Bargarh home on Thursday evening after kidnappers later phoned in a Rs 40 lakh demand.
- Police used technical surveillance and human intelligence to identify former tenant Irfan Ansari and associate Kallu, detaining them around 4 am Friday.
- An exchange of fire during a custody-led search in the Paranu Baba forest around 7:30 am left Kallu dead and Irfan wounded and referred to Prayagraj.
- On the suspects’ disclosure, officers recovered the child’s body from their premises with signs of strangulation and chest injuries, and sent it for post-mortem.
- Residents and traders blocked a key highway to demand justice, and police deployed additional teams to manage demonstrations and restore traffic.