Gorakhpur (Uttar Pradesh): In a gruesome act, a class six student was kidnapped and killed within hours of his abduction from Gorakhpur's Pipraich area on Sunday. The kidnappers proceeded to demand a ransom of Rs 1 crore from his father.
The body of the 14-year-old boy was recovered from a jungle area near a canal here on Monday evening, said police.
The 14-year-old son of a grocery and paan' shop owner, Mahajan Gupta, was kidnapped from Pipraich area on Sunday and killed by the kidnappers the same night, they added.
They said a total of five persons have been arrested for their alleged role in the kidnapping-cum-murder of Gupta's son and police are looking for two more.
The son of Gupta, who runs his shop near his house at Jungle Chhatradhari area, was kidnapped on Sunday afternoon and the family had also received a ransom call.
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After taking lunch on Sunday afternoon, my son had gone outside to play. In the evening I received a phone call from an unknown number and the person on the line asked me to pay a ransom of Rs 1 crore for my son, said Gupta, adding the matter was immediately reported to the police.
Gupta reportedly asked the kidnappers to lessen the ransom amount but they denied his request.
Gorakhpur SSP Sunil Kumar Gupta said soon after getting the information, the police swung into action and nabbed one Dayanand of Jungle Dhoosar area.
During interrogation, Dayanand confessed he along with some of his accomplices kidnapped the boy and killed him on Sunday evening itself.
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After killing the boy, the miscreants packed his body in a bag and threw it near Kewatia nulla in the area, said the SSP, adding the police recovered the body on Monday.
Dayanand named Ajay Gupta of Jungle Dhoosar area and Nikhil Bharti of Mishroulia village as his partners in the crime, prompting the police to arrest the duo too, the SSP said.
Prime accused Dayanand has also named two other residents of Jungle Dhoosar -- Nitin Chauhan and Ajai Chauhan, said the SSP, adding the police have launched a manhunt for their arrest.
Police have also arrested two other residents of the same area -- Rinku Gupta and Nitesh Paswan -- for selling mobile SIM to the miscreants to use it for making ransom call.
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The SSP said Nikhil Bharti knew Gupta's son and he and his accomplices were planning to kidnap him for the last eight to ten days.
Gupta had bought some land and Dayanand was also into property dealing, the SSP said, making the accused believe that the trader was quite rich and would easily pay them the hefty ransom.
CM orders stringent action
Upset over the crime, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath ordered stringent action against the culprits. Expressing his deep condolence to the slain boy's family, the chief minister also announced an ex gratia payment of Rs 5 lakh to the family.
Three policemen suspended for negligence
Meanwhile, three policemen, including a sub-inspector, have been suspended for alleged laxity in connection with the case, SSP Sunil Kumar Gupta informed.
The SSP said sub-inspector Digvijay Singh and constables Pradeep Singh and Surendra Tiwari of Pipraich Police stationhave been suspended for carelessness in handling the case.
(With inputs from PTI)
