Boy, 8, killed by neighbours after kids’ spat in Meerut

MEERUT: A quarrel between two minor children while playing turned horrific after the family of one of the boys abducted an eight-year-old boy, smothered him to death and hid the body on the terrace of their house.

Krishna Kumar, a KG student at a private school, went missing on Friday and his body was found on the terrace of his neighbour's house in Hapur's Garh Mukhteshwar on Saturday night, police said, adding three neighbours have been arrested.

After Krishna went missing, his father, an e-rickshaw driver, launched a search in the locality. Their neighbours -- Deepak Kumar, a daily wager, his wife Seema Devi, and younger brother Sonu Kumar -- initially pretended to help Krishna's parents in their search. Police were informed as well.

On Saturday night, police conducted an intensive search operation in the area. During questioning, replies by Deepak and his family members were found inconsistent, raising the suspicion against them, said police. The child's body was subsequently found on their terrace, said cops.

ASP (Hapur) Vineet Bhatnagar said, "The accused confessed to the crime. Deepak's son was hit by Krishna while playing, following which the family kidnapped him and strangled him before hiding the body on the terrace."

"The postmortem report confirmed ‘death due to smothering and throttling'. Based on a complaint by the boy's father, Deepak, his wife and brother were booked for the murder, and were subsequently arrested," said Bhatnagar.


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