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Abducted boy’s body found in bag, 8 accused nabbed after being shot in leg
The accused were nabbed following a shootout in Baukheda forest of Auraiya. Four of them were from Delhi, three from Auraiya and one from Noida, says SP
KANPUR After the body of a jeweller’s 11-year-old son, who was kidnapped from UP’s Auraiya, was found in a suitcase in Delhi on Tuesday night, all eight abductors were arrested within a a few hours after being shot in the leg. They were undergoing treatment at the district hospital in Auraiya, said police on Wednesday.
The accused were nabbed following a shootout in Baukheda forest of Auraiya. Both sides exchanged more than 20 rounds. Four of them were from Delhi, three from Auraiya and one from Noida, said SP (Auraiya) Charu Nigam.
Subhan, a class 5 student, was abducted from outside his house in Erwa Katra area of Auraiya on Saturday. His father, Shakeel Ahmed, lodged a complaint with the police stating that Subhan had gone out to play with his friends and had not returned since then, said police.
According to the children, Subhan’s neighbour, Riyaz Siddiqui, a youth, had taken him along to play cricket. The kidnapping was allegedly executed by Riyaz, his friend and cab driver Awdhesh and six others for a ransom of ₹50 lakh. The boy was hidden in a suitcase, and died of asphyxiation within hours of being kidnapped, said police.
Apart from Riyaz Siddiqui, the police arrested Deepak Gupta, Awdhesh, Jatin Diwakar, Ravi Kumar, Ashish Mishra, Sobhan Yadav and Ankit, said Nigam.
Riyaz told police that he had befriended the boy as part of a plan. The accused, in their twenties, bought a used car for ₹48,000, for which Riyaz gave ₹38,000 and Sobhan Yadav contributed ₹10,000.
On March 21, they also bought a trolley bag in Auraiya for ₹2,700. Two days later, Riyaz took the boy to MS Inter College ground in Auraiya in the car on the pretext of playing cricket, said cops.
The boy was hidden in the suitcase with no space for him to breathe. Riyaz and Ankit drove towards Noida but their vehicle broke down near Khurja. Awdhesh came in another car and took the suitcase to Delhi while Riyaz, Deepak and Ankit returned to Auraiya.
SP (Auraiya) Charu Nigam said after the boy was reported missing, the police examined the call detail records (CDRs) of Riyaz and others, which revealed their location was between Auraiya and Delhi.
Tracking the location, the police raided the house of Ankit and his brother Deepak in Noida. Subsequently, Awdhesh, his brother Ashish and their friend Jatin fled from Delhi. However, Awdhesh parked the vehicle outside his uncle’s house in Peeragarhi locality in Delhi. The police found the suitcase containing the body in this car.
Riyaz used to drive a taxi in Delhi, where he befriended Awdhesh. The others also worked in Noida and Delhi and formed a close circle, said Nigam.
