12-yr-old boy detained, two held for murder of elderly couple in Loni

The police said that the boy allegedly planned the entire plot two days before the murder and strangled the two victims in their house at Loni’s Daulat Nagar locality on November 22.

The Ghaziabad police on Saturday cracked the double murder case of an elderly couple, who were found dead in their house in November. Police arrested two suspects and also detained a 12-year-old boy, who allegedly planned the entire plot in order to loot the deceased.

Police took the custody of the minor boy and identified his two accomplices as Manjesh Mahto (19), and Shubham Kumar (18). Police said that they have also identified another suspect in the case, who is presently on the run.

The police said that the boy allegedly planned the entire plot two days before the murder and strangled the two victims in their house at Loni’s Daulat Nagar locality on November 22.

The murdered victims were identified as Ibrahim Khan (65), and his wife Hazra Khan (52).

Police took the custody of the minor boy and identified his two accomplices as Manjesh Mahto (19), and Shubham Kumar (18). Police said that they have also identified another suspect in the case, who is presently on the run. “The entire plot was hatched by the minor and he roped in his other friends to murder and rob the couple at their house. The four suspects are local scrap dealers and came to know that Khan got a substantial amount of money by selling scrap at Deep City in Loni,” said Iraj Raja, deputy commissioner of police, Ghaziabad (rural).

Police said that during interrogation, the suspects told them that they reached the house of the couple at around 4am on November 22, and knocked on the main gate of the house.

“When Hazra opened the gate, the minor said that they had brought scrap and wanted to sell it to her husband. Soon, suspects Manjesh and Shubham got hold of her and she was strangled. In the meantime, the minor and the other suspect, identified as Sandeep Upadhyaya, barged into Khan’s room and strangled him in his sleep. The suspects then fled with ₹54,500, two mobile phones and a gold chain worn by Hazra,” DCP Raja added.

Ghaziabad police formed several teams to crack the case and based on local information as well as electronic surveillance methods; they were able to trace the three suspects.