A 15-year-old boy, along with two others, has been arrested for allegedly kidnapping and murdering his 12-year-old cousin in Jharkhand's Hazaribag district, a senior police officer said.

According to Hazaribag Superintendent of Police (SP) Manoj Ratan Chothe, the 12-year-old boy was allegedly kidnapped on March 1 by his teenage brother for ransom.

Two others arrested have been identified as Kartik Yadav (50) and Ashish Kumar (36), he said, adding that the police were still trying to establishing their connection with the 15-year-old accused.

The victim's mother, Kiran Devi, had lodged a missing complaint at Barkatha police station when his son did not return home till late in the evening on March 1.

Two days later, Devi received a call from one of the kidnappers seeking a ransom of Rs 6 lakh for releasing his son, the SP said.

"We traced the call and arrested all three. They confessed to have killed the boy on the same day that he was kidnapped. His body was then hidden in a cave in Kohuakundhar forest," the SP said.

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