Two days after a 16-year-old boy was allegedly beaten to death in Karnal, police on Thursday arrested three accused, including two minors, for the murder of the victim.
The accused, identified as Daljeet Kumar, 18, is a resident of Jundla village and a Class 12 student at a government school.
DSP (headquarters) Sandeep Kumar said that the two minors, both 16-year-old, were friends with the prime accused and studied in Class 10 at the same school where the victim Prateek was studying.
Police said Daljeet was presented before a court and was taken into remand, while proceedings will be undertaken on the minors by the Juvenile Board.
Addressing the media, the DSP said that a joint team comprising cops from Karnal Sadar police station, CIA-1, and CIA-2, based on confidential information, technical evidence, and a series of raids, nabbed the trio from Jhundla village.
“During the investigation, it has come to light that the prime accused and the deceased Prateek were in a dispute over a friendship with a girl from the same school. Around six months ago, Daljeet threatened Parteek outside his school over the same issue, which the latter’s family also confirmed,” the DSP said.
Kumar said that keeping the same revenge in mind, Daljeet along with the two minors, planned to attack and kill Prateek. “The trio conducted recce prior to the attack, which was also confirmed by CCTV footage. They followed Prateek, who was returning from a temple on a road near Dhaulgarh village and started thrashing him with sticks, kicks, and punches,” the DSP said.
{{/usCountry}}Kumar said that keeping the same revenge in mind, Daljeet along with the two minors, planned to attack and kill Prateek. “The trio conducted recce prior to the attack, which was also confirmed by CCTV footage. They followed Prateek, who was returning from a temple on a road near Dhaulgarh village and started thrashing him with sticks, kicks, and punches,” the DSP said.
{{/usCountry}}Prateek was taken to Park Hospital in Karnal, where doctors declared him dead. Police said they are yet to recover the sticks used in the crime. They also said that a bottle of petrol was recovered from the crime scene, but are yet to establish the motive behind it. The DSP confirmed the recovery of the petrol bottle and said that the police will probe the involvement of other accused in the murder, as alleged by the family.