PATNA: The body of a doctor’s 15-year-old son, who was abducted three days ago, was recovered at Rupaspur locality of Patna on Saturday and two of his friends were arrested.
“Satyam Gupta was abducted by three of his friends, who had been making calls to his parents for a ransom of Rs 50 lakh. Two of the three people involved in the abduction and murder have been arrested,” said SP (Patna West) Ravindra Kumar.
A student of class-X at a local school, Satyam had gone to a coaching centre on Thursday as usual after school, but did not return home in the evening. His father, Dr Shashibhushan Prasad Gupta, lodged a complaint at Rupaspur police station the same evening after the family’s searches for the boy proved futile.
Dr Gupta started receiving calls for a Rs 50-lakh ransom for Satyam’s release since Friday morning. The calls were made from Satyam’s mobile phone. Dr Gupta approached police again, and an FIR for abduction was lodged. Efforts by police to trace Satyam bore no results till two of his friends – Neeraj and Pramod – were detained and interrogated on Saturday.
“Neeraj Kumar and Pramod Kumar, both in their early 20s, confessed to have stabbed Satyam to death. A third accused, Ajit Kumar alias Chakia, is on the run. Before stabbing Satyam to death, they made him consume ganja. They killed him on Thursday evening itself and then started making the ransom calls,” added the SP.
Neeraj, however, told reporters after his arrest that Satyam was killed because he had been troubling a girl in his village. Police said a probe is on to verify the killers’ claims. Neeraj and Pramod are relatives of jailed gangster and MLC Reetlal Yadav, said police sources.
Meanwhile, Patna zonal IG Nayyar Hasnain Khan placed under suspension Rupaspur police station SHO Dipak Kumar for alleged inaction after the missing report of Satyam was lodged.