Three persons who allegedly killed a woman engineering student from Pune last month and demanded Rs 9 lakh ransom from her family were debt-ridden and wanted to earn quick money, which prompted them to commit the crime, police said.
On March 30, engineering student Bhagyashri Sude (22) was allegedly kidnapped by Shivam Fulawale, her college friend, Suresh Indure and Sagar Jadhav from Viman Nagar area in Maharashtra's Pune city, they said.
The three persons then allegedly strangled her to death and buried the body on the outskirts of neighbouring Ahmednagar city. They later sought a ransom of Rs 9 lakh by sending a message on a phone number of her parents, an official from Vimantal police station said on Tuesday.
The woman's body was found in Ahmednagar on Sunday.
"During the investigation, it has so far come to light that the accused were facing financial distress and were debt-ridden. They wanted to earn some quick money and hatched a plan to kidnap Sude," the official said.
After the victim's parents filed a missing complaint, the police zeroed-in on the three persons and arrested them.
The accused told the police about the killing and also showed the place where they had buried the body, the official said.
The three accused were on Monday produced before a Pune court which remanded them to police custody till April 15, he added.