Inspired by TV crime show, five UP teens kidnap 7-year-old boy for ransom; panicked they kill, dump body

New Delhi: Five boys aged between 15 and 16 in Uttar Pradesh's Bulandshahr district were arrested for allegedly kidnapping a seven-year-old boy for ransom and later murdering him. Police informed that the accused drew inspiration by a popular crime television show.

Bulandshahr Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Shlok Kumar said the accused are students of Class 10. They picked up a boy on 9 July from his school and took him to Aligarh where they choked him to death using a handkerchief.

"They then dumped his body in a river which was recovered later, leading to an investigation into the matter," the senior police officer said.

The child's father, who lives in Shekhupur village under Chhatari police station limits filed a complaint. Police initially registered a FIR under IPC section 363 (missing) on the basis of the father's complaint but after the probe and findings, the accused were also booked under IPC sections 302 (murder) and 201 (causing disappearance of evidence), the police said.

The senior cop further said that one of the teenagers had mistakenly lost Rs 40,000 while carrying out a financial transaction and was worried about it. The teenager narrated his ordeal to his friends after which they all decided to kidnap a child from the school for ransom to recover his loss.

"On July 9, the victim was among the first few students to reach the school. The accused had not specifically planned to kidnap him but he was picked up since he reached the school early and there were not many people at the time," SSP Kumar said.

The Class 10 student, who was also pursuing academics in the same school, saw the boy playing outside his class and then took him to the boundary of the school where his other associates, who studied in a different school, were already present. From there, the two accused took the boy on a motorcycle to Aligarh while the other reached there by bus, police said.

"They had taken the boy to Aligarh because one of the accused had a house there and the boy was kept hostage there," the officer said. The teenagers panicked thinking what they would do if their plan does not succeed and thought they might fall into and hence decided to kill the young boy. They later dumped his body in a river.

"They threw his handkerchief in bushes in an isolated area and returned to Bulandshahr," the SSP said, adding that the child's body was found from the river in Aligarh and was identified as the boy missing from Bulandshahr.

The police officer said that after the body was recovered, more policemen were put on the case. Six teams were constituted which analysed more than 100 CCTV footages and investigated over 200 people in connection with the case. The cops ultimately cracked the case and apprehended them, who have also admitted to the crime.

"They initially tried to mislead the police and concocted various stories about the disappearance of the boy. However, eventually they admitted committing the crime and also revealed how they got inspired by a popular crime show on TV for planning the kidnapping," SSP Kumar said.

They were produced before a juvenile justice board for further legal action in the case.

With inputs from PTI

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