A Vellore couple, who had been absconding since 2013 was picked up by the Vellore police here on Thursday. The duo had drowned a nine-year-old boy at Hogenakkal following a fallout with his father.

Sources said that Perumal (35) and Kaaliammal (34) were a couple who lived in Yelagiri. Perumal had borrowed some money from one Kutti of the same village. When Perumal failed to return the amount despite repeated requests, Kutti slapped him with his slipper at a commonplace in the village, while others watched.

A humiliated Perumal, along with his lover Kaaliammal, kidnapped Kutti's nine-year-old son and threw him into the Hogenakkal falls. The boy's body was found only after days and by then the duo had split up and fled. Based on a complaint from Kutti, Perumal was arrested in a few days and remanded into judicial custody.

A case was registered under IPC sections 363 (kidnapping) and 302 (murder), implicating Kaaliammal also. When he came out on bail after remand, Perumal went into hiding. In 2015, Kaaliammal surrendered in front of the Tirupattur Magistrate and was sent into judicial custody. When released on bail, she also went into hiding. Both of them were picked up from Bengaluru on Thursday following a tip-off. Further inquiries are on.