Man held for kidnapping, attempting to kill 5-year-old boy in Noida

Suspect Singh tried to mislead the investigation for three to four days by pretending to be worried about the boy. But later, he moved to his home town and CCTV cameras installed near the spot where the child went missing also captured Singh taking away the boy

A 22-year-old man was arrested on Thursday for allegedly kidnapping a five-year-old boy, strangulating him and dumping him in a forest area assuming him to be dead, reportedly to take revenge on the boy’s stepfather for allegedly assaulting him in Noida’s Phase 1 locality, said senior police officers.

Man held for kidnapping, attempting to kill 5-year-old boy in Noida

Police identified the suspect as Dheeraj Singh, 22, who hails from the Arwal district of Bihar and resides in Harola in Noida’s Sector 5. He was known to the child’s father and they had a fallout some months ago over a monetary dispute, said police.

On November 18, Angad Tanti, 35, a resident of Harola in Phase 1, filed a complaint stating that his five-year-old son was missing. “He said in his complaint that on November 17, around 10 am, when his son was playing outside his home, he went missing. He, his wife and neighbours tried to search for the boy but failed to locate him,” said Ram Badan Singh, deputy commissioner of police, Noida, adding that a case under section 137(2) (kidnapping) was registered at Phase 1 police station and teams were formed to rescue the child.

“Suspect Singh tried to mislead the investigation for three to four days by pretending to be worried about the boy. But later, he moved to his home town and CCTV cameras installed near the spot where the child went missing also captured Singh taking away the boy,” said DCP Singh, adding that on the suspicion of his involvement in the kidnapping, Singh was called from Bihar.

During the investigation, it was revealed that around two months ago, a fight broke out between Singh and Tanti over money, after which Singh made some derogatory comments against Tanti’s wife.

“After the comments, Tanti assaulted him, and since then, Singh was planning a revenge on Tanti. A few days back, when Singh came to know that the boy’s biological father, Prem, a native of Bihar, wanted custody of his son, he decided to take revenge by killing the boy, and believed that Tanti would be implicated in the murder,” said DCP Singh.

On the pretext of buying snacks for the minor, he took him to Ghaziabad, where he strangulated him. When the kid fell unconscious, he left the body in the bushes, assuming him to be dead, and returned to Noida.

“The next morning, when locals spotted the child crying, Ghaziabad police was alerted, but except for his name, the child could not say anything else,” said DCP Singh, adding that later, he was sent to the care of the child welfare committee after medical examination.

A case under sections 137(2) (kidnapping), 109 (attempt to murder), and 140(1) (kidnapping or abducting in order to murder or for ransom) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita was registered at the Phase 1 police station, said police.