Ghaziabad: Missing man’s body found buried in female friend’s house

The body of a 19-year-old man who went missing on the night of August 11 was found buried in the house of his female friend under the jurisdiction of Muradnagar police station area on Tuesday, said police

The body of a 19-year-old man who went missing on the night of August 11 was found buried in the house of his female friend under the jurisdiction of Muradnagar police station area on Tuesday, said police.

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Police said they cracked the case and found the body with the help of an ice-cream vendor to whom the friend, a girl who is suspected to be a minor, had given the victim’s SIM card in an alleged move to get rid of evidence.

Police identified the victim as Mohammad Mursaleen whose family had lodged a missing person complaint on August 15 after they failed to trace him despite a thorough search.

“As part of our investigation, we roped in our electronic surveillance teams and launched a trace on the victim’s SIM card. That led us to an ice-cream vendor near the girl’s house. When we questioned the vendor, he said he found that the SIM card in a ₹500 currency note that the girl had given him. He claimed that he didn’t suspect anything amiss and used the card. With his help, we traced the girl’s house and questioned her and her family and found out about the man’s decomposed body buried in the house,” said Iraj Raja, superintendent of police (rural).

The police said that they the exact age of the girl was unknown.

“We exhumed the body in presence of a magistrate and sent it for autopsy. Once we get that report, we will be able to establish the cause of death. The family of the victim has now lodged a murder complaint with us,” said the SP.

Officials familiar with the development said that, according to their mobile phone records and statements from other residents of the locality, the victim and the girl knew each other for past two years.

The victim’s uncle, Mohammad Babu, said they had no previous grudge against the family.

“My nephew was having dinner when he received a call on the night of August 11. He excused himself suddenly and went out and never returned. We searched for him everywhere but to no avail. We knew that he had some connection with the girl, but we had never made an issue out of it. We suspect that her family may have called him through the girl and later murdered him,” said Mohammad Babu.

The police said that based on the complaint given by victim’s family, they have launched investigation and were questioning the girl, her elder sister, mother and brother.

According to officials familiar with case investigation, the girl told police that the man killed himself in the house and they buried his body out of fear. But the officials said that the manner in which she disposed of the SIM card seemed to have been a deliberate attempt to hide something.