Five Youths Arrested for Abduction, Murder of DPS Boy

Five persons have been arrested in connection with the killing of a class XI student of DPS-Maruti Kunj, in Bhondsi, Gurgaon, on November 21, said reports.

According to police, youths murdered Mohammad Azharuddin for fear of being recognized.

The five persons have been identified as Manoj Yadav, Sayeed Aftab, Ravi Sakhia, Mohammed Anish, and Thomas.

On November 21, they had kidnapped Azharuddin when he was on his way to Palwal, Haryana. A complained lodged by his father Mohammad Akhtar said that he was going to a bank in Palwal to submit documents required for an education loan for his sister, a BBA student.

Police said that Azharuddin met three of the five accused – Sayeed Aftab (a family friend), Ravi Kumar Sakhia and Manoj Yadav – on way to Palwal.

Anil Dhawan, DCP (Crime), Gurgaon, said that Ravi got off near Bhondsi while Manoj and Aftab drove till Palwal. After that, they told Azharuddin that since they had hired the car for the entire day, they wanted to drive a little further, he said. They went to Etah, in Uttar Pradesh.

Dhawan said that Azharuddin got wind of their plan and raised alarm. The accused strangulated him to avoid being identified and later dumped his body in a close-by forest.

After Azharuddin did not come back home till late evening, Akhtar approached the police and a missing case was then lodged at Bhondsi police station on November 22.

On December 17, Akhtar got a call from Azharuddin’s number. The caller, who claimed to had abducted his son, demanded a Rs 50-lakh ransom. However, when Akhtar agreed to meet them and give ransom, their luck ran out.

“The accused persons could not call from Azharuddin’s mobile phone to tell the location since the phone’s balance was low,” DCP Dhawan said. “Instead, they called from a Delhi number and we traced the call.”

Police said the other two arrested persons – Mohammed Anish, a call centre cab driver, and Thomas, an auto-rickshaw driver – helped the trio. Both are residents of Sangam Vihar, South Delhi.

According to the police, the arrested five have confessed to their crime and the police have taken them in remand to trace the body. Two other accomplices in the crime are still at large, the police said.

Manoj is a second-year student of BSc (correspondence), while Aftab is a first year student of MBA from a private university in UP. Ravi is a photographer.