Delhi: 3 teens murder 15-yr-old, fake kidnapping for ₹10L ransom

Investigators revealed that they were looking to make money, though the exact reason remains unclear. Investigators said they are also probing other possible motives, including personal enmity or a past dispute.

Three teenagers, aged 16 and 17, brutally murdered a 15-year-old neighbour, dumped his body in a forested area, and then staged his kidnapping to demand a ₹10 lakh ransom — a crime police said on Wednesday was planned nearly a month in advance.

The three were detained a day after committing the murder on Sunday night near Bhalswa Lake. (FILE)

The three were detained a day after committing the murder on Sunday night near Bhalswa Lake. According to the police, the victim was friends with the accused. Investigators revealed that they were looking to make money, though the exact reason remains unclear. Investigators said they are also probing other possible motives, including personal enmity or a past dispute.

“We have examined the three boys, two of them aged 17 and the third is 16, thoroughly in the case. They told us that they committed the crime just for money. We are trying to find out if there was any specific purpose for which they needed ₹10 lakh. Other possibilities are also being explored,” said deputy commissioner of police (north) Raja Banthia.

According to police and the victim’s family, the Class 9 student, a resident of Wazirabad in north Delhi, left home Sunday evening to meet three friends. When he failed to return, his family filed a missing complaint late that night.

On Monday morning, the police control room received a call about an alleged kidnapping, and the case was transferred to Wazirabad police station. “On receiving the complaint, we immediately registered a case of kidnapping on Monday and formed teams to look for the missing boy,” said the DCP.

By Monday afternoon, the victim’s 42-year-old father, a driver, received a chilling call from his son’s phone. The caller demanded ₹10 lakh, claiming the boy was alive and giving him three days to arrange the money before abruptly disconnecting.

Meanwhile, police tracked the boy’s last known location and found CCTV footage showing him on a motorcycle with three neighbourhood boys near Jharoda Pushta Road. Confronted with the evidence, the suspects were apprehended.

“Our team members scanned CCTV cameras installed on the route that confirmed his presence on the bike with three boys. The three boys were apprehended and examined. They disclosed that they kidnapped and killed the victim for a ransom of ₹10 lakh,” said Banthia.

On Tuesday, they led police to a forested area near Bhalswa Lake, where the victim’s semi-decomposed body was found. The boy had been stabbed multiple times in the neck, abdomen, and back using two knives, both of which were recovered along with the motorcycle used in the crime.

The teenagers admitted they had met the boy outside his home on Sunday evening and lured him onto their bike under the pretext of hanging out. Once in the secluded forest, they overpowered him and stabbed him repeatedly. After hiding his body in the bushes, they fled with his phone and used its SIM card the next day to make the ransom call before switching it off.

“At 1.40pm on Monday, I received a call from my son’s number. The caller told me that my son was alive and fine. He asked me to arrange ₹10 lakh if I wanted to see my son alive and gave me three days of time to deliver the money. When I asked him about the place where the money was to be delivered, the person disconnected the call. Thereafter, the phone number remained switched off,” the victim’s father told media persons.

On Tuesday evening, the victim’s family identified the body recovered by the police as that of the missing boy.

On Wednesday afternoon, the family blocked the Pushta Road in protest for nearly an hour, demanding justice and seeking death penalty for the accused. Police assured them of speedy probe after which the protest was called off.

“I demand death penalty for the accused because they killed my only child... I strongly believe that there is somebody else who planned the crime. The police should arrest that person,” the grieving father said.