Ghaziabad: 11-year-old was strangled to death, say cops

The post-mortem report of the boy revealed that he was strangled and was also severely injured on his head and near an ear. Officials at the Sahibabad police station, where a case was lodged, confirmed that the cause of death was strangulation.

Eleven-year-old Sameer, who was murdered and buried in a neighbour’s residence, allegedly by his neighbours, was first strangled after being pulled into the house on the evening of June 5, the police said.

The post-mortem report of the boy revealed that he was strangled and was also severely injured on his head and near an ear. (Sakib Ali/HT File Photo)

The boy’s body, which was buried in Abbas’ house in Shaheed Nagar, was recovered by the police on June 10.

The post-mortem report of the boy revealed that he was strangled and was also severely injured on his head and near an ear. Officials at the Sahibabad police station, where a case was lodged, confirmed that the cause of death was strangulation.

“Now, we will be adding the sections of murder, destruction of evidence and criminal conspiracy against the accused in the case. Every member of the neighbour’s family is being traced as the murder took place inside the house and the body was buried in a pit that was dug up after breaking the cemented floor. Our teams are trying to trace the accused persons who fled the house,” said Sudhir Tyagi, station house officer, Sahibabad.

Sameer, one of six siblings, disappeared on the evening of June 5, the same day he had an altercation with his neighbour in the morning. His family launched a search but the boy could not be traced.

“Abbas and his family did not tell us anything about the missing boy. In fact, they frequently approached us and asked us if the boy had been traced. It was only after Abbas’s house remained locked from Friday evening till Saturday that we got suspicious. He was later brought to the police station by one of his relatives. Later, he revealed the entire incident,” said Gurfan, the victim’s uncle.

Police sources said that after allegedly murdering Sameer, the family buried the boy in the pit and also asked the daily wage workers they were employing in their cardboard factory, in front of their residence, not to come to the workshop due to Ramzan season.

The house was sealed following the discovery of the body.

“After they informed their workers to stop visiting the workshop, Abbas and his family wanted to dispose of the body elsewhere. But they found no time as Shaheed Nagar is densely populated and locals remain outdoors throughout the day and even sleep outside during the night,” a police official said.

“Since they did not find any suitable time to dispose of the body, they sent their children and women to their relatives and fled after locking the house,” the source said.