14-year-old girl among 3 held for murdering 82-year-old in Loni

Police arrested two men and detained a 14-year-old girl for the murder of an 82-year-old man during a robbery in Ghaziabad's Loni Border.

Ghaziabad: Days after an 82-year-old man was murdered during a robbery at his house in Uttaranchal Vihar Society in Loni Border, police have arrested two men and detained a 14-year-old girl, officials said Saturday.

The incident occurred on Wednesday afternoon when 82-year-old Ramesh Chandra Sharma was alone at home (Photo for representation)

Police said they took the girl into custody and arrested her 20-year-old cousin from Loni Border on Saturday. The third suspect, the girl’s 35-year-old father, was arrested near Behta culvert in Loni late Friday. The three were seen entering the house in a nearby CCTV camera, they added.

The incident occurred on Wednesday afternoon when 82-year-old Ramesh Chandra Sharma was alone at home. His two sons, Vikas Sharma, 55, and Gaurav Sharma, 50, had gone out for work at the time.

When Vikas returned around 7:30pm, he found his father had been killed, and ropes were tied to his legs and throat. Based on his complaint, a case was filed under BNS Section 103(1) for murder at the Loni Border police station late Wednesday night.

According to police, the girl previously worked as a domestic help at Ramesh’s house, However, he fired her about three months ago over an alleged ₹2,500 theft and told her not to come back to work.

“Upon Ramesh’s request, the girl’s mother started working at his house. In between, the girl would also visit to help her mother. About a month ago, the girl allegedly told her father about the cash in the house, and convinced him and the cousin to commit a theft. The girl allegedly alerted her father on Wednesday when she found that Vikas’s two-wheeler was not parked at the house,” Siddharth Gautam, ACP of the Loni circle, told HT

Thereafter, the two men entered the house’s through the front door while the girl entered the house from the rear.

“The trio started a frantic search for cash and valuables and tried to break the locker where cash was kept. However, Ramesh woke up soon after and resisted the theft. The two men beat him up, and the girl allegedly tied a towel to his throat. Later, the men tied rope to the victim’s legs and throat. Then they hit his head with a stick, strangled him to death, and fled with ₹2,500, silver anklets, and his mobile phone,” the ACP added.

He added that the autopsy of the victim confirmed death due to strangulation. He sustained 18 different injuries on his body.

“Apart from murder, we have also added a BNS Section for robbery against the three suspects. The role of the girl’s mother is not established so far,” DCP (rural) Surendra Nath Tiwari told HT.