The kidnappers of East Delhi-based jeweller’s minor son, Utkarsh, had killed the boy soon after demanding Rs1-crore ransom for his release on Tuesday. The body of Utkarsh was found near a drain in Geeta Colony area on Wednesday morning.
Utkarsh, 13, was kidnapped from Gandhi Nagar area, around 200 metres away from his home, when he was walking to his house after getting down from his school bus on Sant Ram Marg on Tuesday around 2.10 pm. Forensic experts said that Utkarsh was killed 16 to 18 hours before the body was brought to the morgue for post-mortem on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, when Utkarsh did not return home at his usual time, his family members started searching for him. On learning that the school cab driver had dropped him at the usual spot at 2.10 pm, they informed the police.
Police swung into action after reaching Utkarsh’s home. As cops anticipated it to be a case of kidnapping, they waited in his house for ransom calls. The first ransom call was received on the phone of Utkarsh’s mother Mamta at 7:30 pm. The kidnappers demanded a ransom of Rs1 crore and told her that they would later tell her the details of the place where the amount had to be delivered. The second ransom call was received on the phone of Utkarsh’s father Mukesh Verma at 9:30 pm, and the kidnappers said that they needed the money by Wednesday morning.
However, on Wednesday morning, the body of Utkarsh was found in a drain in Block number-12 in Geeta Colony. Utraksh was wearing his school uniform. His parents identified the body after which it was sent for post-mortem. later the body was handed over to the parents for final rites on Wednesday evening.
Mukesh Verma runs a jewellery shop in Rahupura area. He has another son, Rishabh (23), who was scheduled to get married in the coming months, while his daughter Kanika (25) is settled in America with her husband.
Preliminary investigation has revealed that an insider was involved in the incident as the details of what was happening inside Utkarsh’s residence were known to the kidnappers. “It appears that the kidnappers were informed about the movements of the police. While cops were about to trace the number, someone had informed the abductors and hence they killed Utkarsh,” said an official privy to the investigation.
The CCTV footage of the JDB School shows Utkarsh crossing the lane but then he is not seen going out of it, which indicates that the kidnappers took the other lane after abduction.