New delhi: A 22-year-old man was arrested by the Delhi Police for allegedly kidnapping and brutally killing a 10-year-old boy in South Delhi's Maidan Garhi after the latter's mother reportedly refuted his marriage proposal. According to police, on November 28, a woman reported that her son, who went to a general store at around 4 pm to buy some food, hasn't yet returned and she couldn't find him despite repeated searches. "On December 24, a highly decomposed dead body of a boy was recovered in the pond in a ridge area near Maidan Garhi village," said Atul Kumar Thakur, DCP (South). After further investigation, one Bittu was apprehended and interrogated in the case and after sustained interrogation allegedly revealed that he developed a liking for the victim's mother and wanted to marry her, the DCP said. After a marriage dispute between the complainant and her husband, the accused found an opportunity and proposed to her but she denied it. As Bittu had befriended the complainant's son, on November 28 when he saw the boy going towards the market, he called him and asked him to come to the jungle to ear berry. He subsequently took him there and strangled him with a piece of cloth, police said. After committing the crime, the accused rushed back to the victim's house and pretended to help his parents find the boy. He also allegedly went to the spot of crime several times in order to hide any remains of the body, the DCP said.