Thaindian News

Greater Noida, July 6 (IANS) A 17-year-old boy, said to be the relative of a Uttar Pradesh minister, was arrested for allegedly murdering a Greater Noida based property dealer, police said.

The boy, a Class 11 student of a local school, was held Tuesday night for killing Satendra Bhati, at the latter’s C-block house in sector Beta-I at Greater Noida, police said. The accused murdered Satendra along with three other accomplices.

According to Deputy Superintendent of Police, Rahul Kumar, the location of the boy, as revealed through his call details, was found to be near Bhati at the time of murder.

“The boy took tuitions from Satendra’s brother-in-law and was aware of Satendra’s sound financial wealth. He hatched a plan with his cousin Amrish, a person named Rahul and Ashok, a criminal from Meerut,” Kumar said.

“Rahul and Ashok were well acquainted to each other.”

“The four accused went to Satendra’s house on June 26 where they laced his whiskey with sedatives and administered it to him. He became unconscious on consuming the sedated alcohol and died,” he said.

The four then took away Rs.5 lakh cash, a laptop and jewellery worth Rs.10 lakh from his house. The cash, however, was yet to be recovered, as it was with Amrish, Rahul and Ashok who were evading arrest.

The boy was sent to a juvenile home in Meerut on Wednesday.

The accused’s family, meanwhile, protested against his arrest and accused the police of acting on behest of the minister. They claimed their son was not a minor and that he was a registered voter from Girdharpur village. He was 19-years-old and he was studying in Class 11 as he failed in some classes, they claimed.

The police have denied that the accused was a minster’s grandson. Senior Superintendent of Police S.N. Singh, said, “He is not in a direct relation. But he could be a distant relation.”