Friends kill 24-year-old after he asks them to pay for phone they bought using his card

On the directions of the arrested suspects, police divers fished out Shubhanjay’s body from the drain near Taj Highway and sent it for a post-mortem examination

A 24-year-old man was strangled to death allegedly by three of his friends after he asked one of them to pay the instalments for a mobile phone they bought on his credit card, police said on Wednesday, adding that the body was found in a drain beside the Taj Highway in Greater Noida West on Tuesday.

When Shubhanjay reached there, the four of them consumed drinks together. Once Shubhanjay got intoxicated, the three used a handkerchief to strangle him and threw his body in the drain next to the green belt. (Getty Images/representational image)

Hridesh Katheria, additional deputy commissioner of police, Central Noida, identified the deceased as Shubhanjay, who worked as a salesperson at a clothing retail shop in Gaur City mall and resided in Old Haibatpur village in Greater Noida West.

“About a month ago, Shubhanjay’s friend Aman, who hailed from Etah and resided in Old Haibatpur village, used Shubhanjay’s credit card to buy a mobile phone for ₹30,000 from the mall. Aman promised Shubhanjay that he will pay the instalments without fail. However, a month later, when Shubhanjay asked him to pay the EMI, Aman refused. The two friends had a huge argument over this,” said the ADCP, adding that Aman also worked at the same mall as a salesperson at an electronics store.

“Aman told Shubhanjay that he will return him the money and called him there. Aman was accompanied by two of his friends -- Vivek (25) and Puneet (21) -- also natives of Etah district. When Shubhanjay reached there, the four of them consumed drinks together. Once Shubhanjay got intoxicated, the three used a handkerchief to strangle him and threw his body in the drain next to the green belt,” said the ADCP.

The same night, Shubhanjay’s younger brother Dhananjay started searching for him and asked his friends Aman about Shubhanjay’s whereabouts. “Aman first avoided speaking to Dhananjay but after he persisted, he allegedly admitted to Dhanajay over the phone that he killed Shubhanjay. Dhananjay then filed a complaint against Aman, Puneet and Vivek on Tuesday evening at the Bisrakh police station,” said the officer.

Police teams were deployed to nab the suspects and on Tuesday night, Vivek and Puneet were arrested from Itehda roundabout, he said.

“On the directions of the arrested suspects, police divers fished out Shubhanjay’s body from the drain and sent it for a post-mortem examination. Aman is on the run and police teams have been deployed to trace and nab him,” said the ADCP.

“The police also recovered the handkerchief used to strangle the deceased. The suspects were sent to judicial custody on Wednesday,” said Katheria.