Cousin among three held for kidnap and murder of 10-year-old boy in Ghaziabad

Police said it was Priyanshu who lured 10-year-old Harsh Singh to a market near his house in Khoda’s Vandana Enclave on the evening of April 11. From there, he and his two accomplices took the child to Khargosh Park area in Noida’s Sector 54, where they later killed him

The Ghaziabad police on Thursday arrested three persons on charges of kidnapping a 10-year-old boy for ransom from Khoda and later murdering him at a park in Noida’s Sector 54 on April 11.

When the kidnappers could not control him, they killed him by stabbing him in the abdomen and slashing his throat. Once they had killed him, they realised they could not ask for ransom either. (Representative image)

Police said among those arrested is the cousin of the victim boy, who allegedly planned and executed the crime to extort ₹15 lakh from the boy’s family. He was identified as Priyanshu Singh, while the other two were identified as Raju Das and Akash Kumar.

Police said it was Priyanshu who lured 10-year-old Harsh Singh to a market near his house in Khoda’s Vandana Enclave on the evening of April 11. From there, he and his two accomplices took the child to Khargosh Park area in Noida’s Sector 54, where they later killed him.

Police said the family realised Harsh was missing around 8pm, about two hours after he had left home. They looked for him and when they could not find him until midnight, they called the police.

The police initially filed a missing persons complaint and launched an investigation.

The police said based on information given by local informers (whose identities they said were confidential), they got to know that the boy was last seen with the three suspects.

The police picked up the suspects for questioning and they soon broke down and admitted to the crime. They allegedly told the police that their plan was to demand a ransom of ₹15 lakh from the boy’s family and release him once they got the money.

However, things did not go as planned and the boy put up a tough fight on realising that he was being kidnapped, the police said, quoting the suspects.

“When they could not control him, they killed him by stabbing him in the abdomen and slashing his throat. Once they had killed him, they realised they could not ask for ransom either. Later, they put the body in a bag and threw it in Khargosh Park,” said Deeksha Sharma, superintendent of police (crime).

Thereafter, they returned to their homes and continued to act normal till the police arrested them on April 13.

Police said Akash has finished his Class 12 while the other two have appeared for their Class 10 examinations. But all three are adults, and are aged about 18-19 years, police clarified.

The victim family is resident of Vandana Enclave in Khoda while the three suspects are residents of nearby pockets in Khoda.

The arrested men have been booked under Indian Penal Code sections 364a (kidnapping for ransom), 302 (murder) and 34 (common intention) at the Khoda police station.

Police said they have also recovered the murder weapon from the scene of crime in Khargosh Park.