Greater Noida teenager murder: Relative who planned crime misled police and family

When victim Kunal’s father raised suspicions, police took Manoj into custody and it turned out that he was the one who orchestrated the kidnapping and murder along with Himanshu Singh

On May 1, on getting to know that his 15-year-old son was missing from the dhaba, the first call that father Krishna Kumar made was to his relative Manoj Sharma, seeking his help to locate his son. On Thursday, Greater Noida police said Manoj was the one who allegedly planned and executed the kidnap and murder of the teenager. He and three others, including a woman, have been arrested.

On May 1, on getting to know that his 15-year-old son was missing, the first call that Krishna Kumar made was to his relative Manoj Sharma, seeking his help to locate his son. (HT Photo)

“Last Wednesday afternoon, I received a call from a nearby shop owner that my son, Kunal Sharma, was missing. I immediately contacted my relative Manoj Sharma. Manoj expressed shock at his disappearance and said he would come to the dhaba immediately. But he was pretending all the while,” Krishna Kumar said on Thursday.

“Manoj used to run the dhaba for the past eight years, but after I loaned him around ₹23 lakh and he was unable to return it, I took over the business and assigned my son to run it. Two days before Kunal was taken, I had renamed the dhaba after my son, removing Manoj’s name,” said Krishna Kumar. Police said this was the main motive for the abduction and murder.

“From May 1 to 3, Manoj continued to mislead us and the police. But when I raised suspicions on him, police picked him up for questioning,” said Krishna Kumar.

“Manoj joined the investigation when we were scanning CCTV footage and trying to locate the boy,” said a police officer attached to the probe, asking not to be named,

“But when his father raised suspicions, we took Manoj into custody and it turned out that he was the one who orchestrated the kidnapping and murder along with Himanshu Singh, who was bore a grudge against Krishna Kumar,” the officer said.

“Manoj asked me to loan ₹2 lakh to Himanshu around one-and-a-half-months ago and vouched that Himanshu would return the money in 10 days,” said Krishna Kumar, adding that as his daughter’s wedding was scheduled for May 10, he asked Himanshu to return the money. This angered Himanshu and became another motive for the kidnap and murder, said police.

“I lost my son, money, and my daughter’s alliance also fell through. I am left with nothing,” said Krishna Kumar.