A 22-year-old builder and his friend have been arrested for allegedly kidnapping and killing a 13-year-old boy at Gandhi Nagar in East Delhi last week.
The accused had helped in constructing the victim’s houseand he had a fair idea about his father Mukesh Verma’s financial status.
Mr. Verma’s son Utkarsh was kidnapped for ransom from outside his house in Gandhi Nagar on November 18. A day later, his body was recovered from a drain near his house.
“We have arrested Pratap Singh Sisodiya (22), a builder and a struggling model, along with his friend Siddhartha Sharma (22) for kidnapping and killing Utkarsh,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (East) Ajay Kumar.
“A case regarding the 13-year-old boy’s kidnapping was registered at the Gandhi Nagar police station on November 18 when his father came to us complaining that Utkarsh did not reach home after getting dropped by his school van. However, the next day, the child’s body was recovered from a drain. We then registered a case of murder and deployed ten teams for arresting the accused men,” added Mr. Kumar.
“During investigation, we got to know that someone known to the family had kidnapped the boy. After gathering extensive CCTV footage from the places where the child was kidnapped and questioning a number of people, we pinned our suspicion on Pratap Singh Sisodiya. On being confronted, he broke down and confessed to his crime,” said Mr. Kumar.
The accused told the police that he and his friend Siddhartha had hatched the conspiracy to kidnap Mr. Verma’s son. He had also helped in the construction of his house and had an idea about his wealth.
Four days before kidnapping Utkarsh, Pratap conducted a recce of the area where he would be dropped by his school van. On November 18, he reached the area and asked Utkarsh to accompany him saying that his grandmother had passed away and he was taking him for her last rites.
“Pratap’s friend Siddhartha then joined them and took the boy to Siddhartha’s flat in Guru Angad Nagar. They gave him a drink laced with sedatives and made a ransom call to his parents. The first call was made from Geeta Colony. When they returned to the room, Utkarsh insisted on talking to his parents. They gave him another sedative-laced drink and then went to V3S Mall to make another ransom call,” said a police officer.
“Pratap then asked Siddhartha to go to Utkarsh’s house to ascertain the situation there. On reaching the house, Siddhartha found that many people had gathered there. He got scared and asphyxiated Utkarsh. Around 5 a.m. the next day, they took his body on a scooter and threw it in the drain near Geeta Colony,” he added.
Special Commissioner of Police Law and Order, Deepak Mishra has given a reward of Rs.1. 25 lakh to the team that solved the case.
