CHENNAI: A case of alleged child exploitation and illegal burial of a 12-year-old boy has emerged, leading to the arrest of a couple from Andhra Pradesh.

According to police, the 12-year-old boy, Ballolu Venkateshu from Andhra’s Guntur district, was allegedly “mortgaged” by his parents Anakamma and her second husband Prakash to another couple N Muthu and Thanapakiyam from Sathyavedu in Andhra, for Rs 15,000. The agreement was that Venkateshu would rear ducks for Muthu in Vembakkam, Tiruvannamalai district, for 10 months. The agreement also strictly barred his parents from visiting or contacting him during those months.

A member of the Yanadi community, Anakamma hails from Chavatapalem village in the Guntur mandal. She had left her son Venkateshu in the care of Muthu, for a period of 10 months to repay the debt. She made the difficult decision following the death of her first husband, Chenchaiah, a year earlier — an event that pushed the family deeper into the clutches of bonded labour.

Anakamma last heard her son’s voice on April 15. He pleaded with her over the phone to take him back as he could no longer endure the harsh and extended working hours.

When she contacted Muthu at the end of the agreed bond period, he informed her that they migrated to Kancheepuram with the ducks and would need around two weeks to return to their native in Tirupati.

Police said Venkateshu reportedly developed jaundice last month and was admitted to a private hospital in Vembakkam, where he succumbed. However, instead of informing his family, the accused moved the body to Kancheepuram’s Palar river bank and buried it in a burial ground.

The boy’s family grew suspicious after being denied contact and filed a complaint at the Sathyavedu police station in Andhra. A special police team subsequently arrested Muthu, Thanapakiyam, and their son Rajasekar in Tiruvannamalai.

Kancheepuram police and revenue officials exhumed Venkateshu’s body on Wednesday and conducted an autopsy at Chengalpattu Government Medical College.