‘I shot at my friend in self-defence,’ says 20-year-old who killed class XII boy

Bareilly: Four days after the body of a 19-year-old youth, Devendra Patel, was recovered near the Dhimari canal in Malpura village here, police on Friday said that he was killed by two of his friends, both aged 20 years. Devendra was a student of class XII at the Government Inter College in Nawabgunj.

The accused persons, Vicky alias Ajay Patel and Amandeep Mishra, students of Bareilly College, were arrested on Friday afternoon from Vilay Dham colony near the Pilibhit bypass. Vicky is a BSc final year student while Mishra is in BA second year.

According to police, the murder took place on the intervening night of December 31 and January 1. Devendra had borrowed Rs 16,000 from Vicky with the promise of returning the money on January 1. The three entered into a scuffle near Labheda village during a drive to Devendra’s house in Nawabgunj.

“Vicky has alleged that Devendra held him at gunpoint. In self-defence, Vicky had allegedly snatched the country-made pistol and shot Devendra at point blank range. They later dumped his body near the Dhimari canal in Malpura village. We have recovered the weapon and also seized the car in which the murder took place. The trio had also consumed liquor on that day at Green Valley colony,” said superintendent of police (SP), city, Rohit Singh Sajwan.

“Devendra wanted to kill me. Had I not snatched the gun, I would have been killed,” said Vicky.