Boy killed by friends for refusing to demand ransom from his family; 5 minors held in Bijnor
A combined team from Shivala Kala police station and SWAT surveillance unit tracked the suspects to the forest ; police recovered a country-made pistol, two empty cartridges, one live cartridge, 4 mobile phones and a shovel from the spot
MEERUT A 13-year-old boy was killed in Husainpur Kala village of Bijnor, allegedly by a group of his five friends after he refused to make a ransom call to his family. The accused, all minors, were apprehended following a gunfight with the police, officials said.
According to SP Abhishek Jha, the incident took place on May 6 when Ayush, son of Deepak Kumar, left his home in Husainpur Kala under distressing circumstances. The following day, Deepak filed a complaint at the Shivala Kala police station, reporting that his son had not returned home. Soon after, a ransom demand of ₹5 lakh was sent via Instagram to one of Deepak’s relatives.
Police investigations, aided by technical surveillance of the Instagram account, identified five suspects from the same village - Aniket, Anmol, Akash, Nakul and Umesh.
The accused had devised a plan to make the ransom call, luring Ayush with a promise of ₹2 lakh to participate in the scheme. When Ayush refused to comply, fearing he might expose their conspiracy, the group allegedly strangled him to death. They then planned to dispose of his body by burying it in a pit in a forest near Imlia village, said cops.
Acting on a tip-off, a combined team from the Shivala Kala police station and the SWAT surveillance unit tracked the suspects to the forest. As the police closed in, the accused, in a desperate bid to escape, opened fire. Aniket fired a shot that struck the bulletproof jacket of SHO Shailendra, causing no injuries. In retaliatory firing, Aniket was shot in the leg and apprehended in an injured condition, while the other four—Anmol, Akash, Nakul, and Umesh—were arrested at the scene, the officer said.
The police recovered a country-made pistol, two empty cartridges, one live cartridge, four mobile phones, and a shovel from the spot, confirming the group’s intent to bury Ayush’s body. During interrogation, the accused confessed to the murder, admitting that Ayush was killed because he refused to make the ransom call.