×
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Kidnapped teenager found dead

Last Updated 19 November 2014, 20:50 IST

A 13-year-old boy, who was kidnapped from east Delhi’s Gandhi Nagar on Tuesday, was found dead in a drain in Geeta Colony on Wednesday. The kidnappers had demanded a ransom of Rs 1 crore from the boy’s parents, the police said.

Utkarsh Verma lived with his family at Rajgarh Colony in Gandhi Nagar and was a class 8 student of Vivekanand Public School in Anand Vihar. His father Mukesh Verma is a jeweller and has a shop in Rajgarh Colony.

“Utkarsh was kidnapped while returning from school in a cab. He was seen in the footage of a CCTV camera near the house,” said a police officer.

According to the police, Utkarsh was found in a drain at Rani Garden in Geeta Colony at around 7 am. The police took the body to Lal Bahadur Shastri Hospital and informed Utkarsh’s father, who identified the body.

Usually, Utkarsh returned from school by 2.30 pm. But on Tuesday, the teenager did not return home till 3 pm and his parents launched a search. They made phone calls to Utkarsh's school and friends, but on failing to get any clue, they approached the police at 4 pm.

A family member Shubh told Deccan Herald that Utkarsh's mother Mamta received two phone calls demanding ransom at 7.40 pm and midnight.

The caller claimed that Utkarsh had been kidnapped and demaded Rs 1 crore for his safe release.

"We were told to arrange the money by Wednesday morning," Shubh said. During the course of investigation, the police analysed CCTV footage which revealed that Utkarsh had been dropped by his school cab at around 2.15 pm at Satsang Marg in Gandhi Nagar.

“As usual, Utkarsh and I were in the front seat of the cab on Tuesday. We were chatting about our school and the cab moved to my stop after dropping him. I did not know that it would be the last time that I would be seeing my best friend,” said Utkarsh’s friend Sushank.

The police also managed to track the ransom calls but it turned out that the phones were recently subscribed on fake IDs. “We do not hope to crack the case through the phone numbers.

“It is suspected that someone close to the family or living in the neighbourhood is involved,” the police officer added.

The investigating officers have also questioned Utkarsh’s family members and friends and employees of Mukesh.

Injury marks were found on Utkarsh’s body, indicating that he was tortured by the kidnappers.

ADVERTISEMENT
(Published 19 November 2014, 20:50 IST)

Follow us on

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT