Delhi man abducted, murdered for Rs 2L ransom

New Delhi, Sep 26 (IANS) Delhi Police have arrested a person for abducting and killing a man after extorting Rs 2 lakhs in the national capital, an official said on Tuesday.

The accused was identified as Sachin Kumar Sharma (24), a resident of Karawal Nagar in northeast Delhi, while a manhunt is on to nab the absconding co-accused Arun.

The police said that on September 20, the complainant Geeta Chaudhary, a resident of Karawal Nagar, reported that a say earlier at around 5.30 p.m., her brother Nitin (22) left home without saying anything.

“On September 20 at 10.23 a.m., she received a WhatsApp message in which the sender informed her that her brother had been kidnapped and would be released only after she paid Rs 2 lakhs. A case of kidnapping for ransom was registered immediately and investigation was taken up,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (northeast) Joy Tirkey said.

During investigation, Sachin was arrested from Ganganagar in Rajasthan and Nitin’s body was found in the bushes near the Behta Hazipur railway station in Ghaziabad.

“Sachin also pointed out the place where he and co-accused Arun had stabbed Nitin to death,” said the DCP.

On interrogation, it was revealed that Sachin had known Nitin since 2018.

“Sachin met Arun (co-accused) about two years ago. He helped in getting Arun’s elder brotherget  married. He had bought a motorcycle some time ago, but was unable to pay the instalments. He had further mortgaged his motorcycle for Rs 40,000 recently. After his daughter’s birth, he had been facing a lot of financial difficulty,” said the DCP.

About 15 days ago, Sachin and Arun hatched a plan to kidnap Nitin and demand the ransom.

“Nitin had a house to his name in Karawal Nagar. They thought his family could easily pay them the ransom amount and they would distribute the money between them,” said the DCP.

On tSeptember 19, Sachin invited Nitin for drinks in the evening.

“Arun was already present with Sachin. Both of them were carrying knives. They had been close friends so Nitin did not suspect anything,” said the DCP.

“Nitin reached Johripur main road at about 6.15 pm on September 19, where Sachin and Arun were waiting for him. All three of them reached the Behta Hazipur station. They bought alcohol and sat near the railway tracks to drink,” said the DCP.

“At about 9 p.m., Sachin suggested that they should return home. While they were walking back in the dark, on a lonely stretch near the railway tracks, both Sachin and Arun overpowered Nitin and stabbed him to death. They took his mobile phone. They hid his body in the bushes near the railway track and returned home."

On the next day,they reached Loni, Ghaziabad and made the ransom call to Nitin’s sister using his own phone.

“However, soon Sachin and Arun realised that the police was investigating the case. They panicked and decided to leave Delhi,” said the DCP.

"Sachin took his wife and daughter and reached Ganga Nagar, Rajasthan, where his wife’s close friend lived. Arun is a resident Labhari village, Uttar Pradesh. Several teams have been constituted to arrest him. Sachin will be produced in court today and taken on police remand. Post mortem of Nitin’s dead body will be conducted today."