16-year-old held on charges of killing professor in Bihar

Madhubani police Thursday arrested a 16-year-old boy for allegedly murdering a professor and stealing his phone

Madhubani police Thursday arrested a 16-year-old boy for allegedly murdering a professor and stealing his phone. The boy confessed his involvement in the crime, police said.

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“During the investigation, we found that the boy ran away from his home after his father refused to buy him a smartphone. Then he decided to steal professor Vijay Shankar Jha’s phone, following which the incident took place on May 7,” said SDPO Kamini Bala. The boy ran away after the incident. Police kept surveillance on the stolen mobile. He returned from Delhi on Monday and switched on the stolen phone through which his location was tracked and he was nabbed, the SDPO added.

The SDPO said the boy revealed that after doing recce, he entered the house of the victim as the door was usually open around 9-10 pm. “When the professor saw him picking up the phone and identified him, the boy feared his arrest and attacked him with a weapon leading to his death,” the SDPO said.

According to the boy’s statement before the police, on May 6 around 9.30 pm, when the professor was preparing food, he entered the house and hid under his bed. After taking food, the professor plugged his mobile for charging and went to his bed. Around 10.30pm, the boy came out from under the bed and tried to take out the phone from charging, during which the professor woke up and started screaming.

“Out of fear, I took a weapon kept inside the house, attacked the professor’s head and fled from the spot with the phone,” said the accused.

A case had been lodged with the Rajnagar police station based on the statement of the victim’s son Ritesh Kumar Jha. The 16-year-old accused has been sent to a remand home.