A 22-year-old Delhi University student was found murdered 10 days after he was kidnapped from his residence in Southwest Delhi’s Palam Village area. The kidnappers were demanding ransom of Rs 50 lakh. The kidnappers later agreed to settle the release for Rs 10 lakh but the boy could not be rescued alive as kidnappers killed him and then dumped the body in a drain passing through Sector 13 of Dwarka area.

In a related development, Minister of State for Home Affairs Hansraj Ahir has asked for a report from the Delhi Police after aggrieved family members approached him for justice.

Family members claimed that kidnappers kept changing their places and they were made to run around for two days for the release of their son.

Family members claimed that despite having substantial clues about the whereabouts of the accused, the police failed to trace the student. The police carried out a botched-up investigation. For days at a stretch, we physically moved out to find our child”.

Police said they have arrested Irshad Ali and have apprehended a juvenile in connection with the kidnapping-cum-murder.

A senior police officer, privy to the investigation told The Pioneer, “The accused Irshad met Ayush on a dating application. They had met three times. On their third date, Irshad got into a heated argument with Ayush after which he hit Ayush with an axe on the latter’s head.

The juvenile helped in disposing off the body.”

Accusing police of partial treatment, the family said had they belonged to a rich family, their only son would have been safely rescued by the cops.

The family members said, “We believe it was our mistake to seek help from the police. They knew about the exact house in Mahavir Enclave where our son was held hostage for the past many days yet the police just sat on the case.”

Police said they found the body of the student, identified as Ayush Nautiyal on Thursday. Ayush a final year student of Ramlal Anand College in South campus was the only son of his parents.

“Ayush was kidnapped from his residence in Dwarka. His kidnappers had demanded a ransom of Rs 50 lakh. However, the family managed to negotiate and finalised to pay Rs 10 lakh,” said a senior police officer.

A senior police officer said that they only received a formal complaint last week, three days after Ayush was kidnapped after he left home for college. When he did not return home that evening, his parents grew worried. As they waited, Ayush’s father received a WhatsApp message from his phone.

The message from Ayush’s phone showed him gagged and bound, with a head injury, and asked for Rs 50 lakh. Afraid that the kidnappers will harm Ayush, the family did not immediately approach the police.

The family had reportedly managed to gather Rs 10 lakh and tried to hand it over to the kidnappers but couldn’t find them. On Wednesday night, his body was found near a drain in Dwarka.

A relative of Nautiyal said that hHis grief-stricken family has accused the police of not doing enough to track down the kidnappers.

“We carried the money and drove through the area in search of the kidnappers. A police van escorted us, but we could not find anything for two days. Then we saw his body,” said a grieving relative.