3 men kill friend, set body, auto on fire in Loni; 2 held

According to police, the three were friends with the 32-year-old, identified as Naveen Kumar alias Nandu who drove an auto-rickshaw. They thrashed Kumar using an LPG cylinder after they suspected that Kumar would offer any one of the three for human sacrifice to get rich after visiting an occult practitioner, police said.

Ghaziabad: Days after the charred body of a 32-year-old man was found in the passenger seat of a burnt auto in Loni’s Agraula, police on Saturday arrested two men for the murder, officials said.

An FIR for murder and destruction of evidence was registered on January 16 at Tronica City police station (HT)

Police said the two were identified as Pawan Pal, 25, and Sagar Pandit, 24 — both residents of Nishant Colony in Loni. A third suspect, Mohammad Naseem, is currently absconding.

According to police, the three were friends with the 32-year-old, identified as Naveen Kumar alias Nandu who drove an auto-rickshaw. They thrashed Kumar using an LPG cylinder after they suspected that Kumar would offer any one of the three for human sacrifice to get rich, police said.

During the investigation, police reached Kumar’s house using the auto’s chassis number. The family members said Kumar had not come home for the past 3-4 days, and they came to know about the burnt auto and charred body through social media, police said.

Based on the complaint of Kumar’s family, an FIR for murder and destruction of evidence was registered against unidentified persons on January 16 at Tronica City police station.

Siddharth Gautam, assistant commissioner of police (ACP) of Loni circle, told HT: “The investigation led us to the two suspects. When questioned, they revealed startling details. They said Kumar had been seeing a tantric at Karawal Nagar, and also took them to him a week before the murder. The occult practitioner allegedly told them about a ritual that would make them rich, but it would require a human sacrifice. Kumar then allegedly asked the tantric if that human could be a near friend.”

On the night of January 13, all four gathered at Pandit’s house at Nishant Colony in Loni for drinks, and the issue of human sacrifice came up.

“The three men suspected that Kumar would offer any one of them for the sacrifice and an altercation broke out. The three used an LPG cylinder to thrash Kumar. Then they wrapped his body in blankets and a mat and took it to the scene. Two autos, one of Kumar and the other belonging to Naseem, were spotted on CCTV cameras. There, they set fire to Kumar’s body which was kept in his auto,” the ACP added.

The burnt auto and the charred body were discovered by locals on January 14, and they informed the police.

Police said the autopsy of the body could not ascertain the cause of death. “A DNA test of the remains of the body will be conducted to aid the investigation. The tantric has no role in murder and destruction of evidence,” ACP added further.