Fatehabad, November 14
A youth kidnapped a 12-year-old schoolchild to pressure his sister into reviving her relations with him. He then killed him with the help of an accomplice out of fear of being caught.

The two accused are in the police custody now. They have confessed to their crime and told the police they threw the boy’s body in the Bhakra main line canal after tying a weight with it.

Sunil and Surender in police custody at Tohana in Fatehabad on Wednesday.

The police is waiting for the arrival of professional divers from Kurukshetra before efforts could begun for fishing out the victim’s body from the canal.

The incident occurred in Ward No 6 of Tohana town of Fatehabad. Gautam Bhatia (12) went missing from his home on October 22. While the family members were trying to trace the missing boy, Gautam’s elder sister told them that she suspected Sunil, a youth from the nearby Geeta Colony, behind his disappearance.

The girl reportedly got suspicious as Sunil had responded callously when she asked him whether he had seen Gautam. The family members then lodged a report with the police.

When the police interrogated Sunil, he spilled the beans and narrated a story that shook everyone, including the police. He told the police that he had developed friendship with the victim’s sister four years ago and the duo used to talk for long on telephone. The process broke when Sunil got married a year ago.

For the last few months, Sunil had been pressuring the girl to revive her old relations with him, which the girl was opposing.

Sunil told the police that he thought of a plan to pressurise the girl and kidnapped her brother Gautam with the help of a friend Surender on October 22.

They then thought that Gautam might expose their deed before the police and hence they decided to eliminate him. They strangled the child to death the same evening.

They then took the body to the Bhakhra main line bridge and threw it into water after tying some weight with it.

A case has been registered under Sections 302, 365, 201 and 34 of the IPC and both accused have been arrested.