Cops in tight spot after charred body identified in Kanpur

“Had the police reacted on time,possibilities were that my son could have been rescued from the kidnappers,” said Ramesh Katiyar,Prince’s father. He claimed that it took him a long time to convince the Bhognipur police that his son has been kidnapped.

On Saturday,after Ramesh came to know about the recovery of a charred body from Gwaltoli,he came to the postmortem house and identified the body as of his kidnapped son’s after seeing the pieces of socks and trousers.

“Prince was wearing blue socks and a trouser of the same colour when he left the house on that fateful day,” Ramesh said. “My son was a bright student and he did not have any rivalry with any individual,” he added.

Before the body was identified,Kanpur police believed that the deceased person was Zia-ud-din,who was allegedly kidnapped from Govind Nagar area on November 5. “There were many similarities between Zia-ud-din and Prince,and therefore the possibilities of the recovered body being of the former could not be ruled out,” said DIG (Kanpur) B P Jogdand. He added efforts are being made to recover Zia-ud-din’s body at the earliest.

The police are also facing criticism for failing to crack Prince kidnapping case as the three accused — Dharmendra,Harendra and Nitesh — are still absconding.

In the last 22 days,as many as four investigating officers have been appointed but none of them could trace Prince’s whereabouts.

Around 7.30 am on October 23,Prince left his home with his two friends — Dharmendra and Harendra – to enquire about a teacher who could give him science tuition. “When he did not return home till evening,I informed the local police but they refused to register my complaint,” Ramesh said.

According to him,another local Nitesh too went missing that day. Though the kidnappers did not raise a ransom demand,they gave five missed calls from Prince’s cellphone to his cousin Pintoo.

“When Pintoo called back on Prince’s number,the kidnappers claimed that they were in Sonebhadra and would soon contact him,” said Ramesh. Thereafter,the kidnappers made no efforts to contact the family members.

Meanwhile,ADG (East) Brij Lal,who was in Kanpur on Sunday,has ordered an inquiry into the case. “If Bhognipur police is found guilty of delaying the investigation,action would be taken up against the concerned policemen,” he said.

Terming Ramesh’s allegations as an issue of major concern,IG (Kanpur Range) G L Meena said the role of Kanpur Dehat police is being probed.”

“Working out cases where close friends and relatives carry out a kidnapping is extremely challenging but it has to be ensured that any complaint made at police station is taken up seriously,” he added.

Meena further said that the initial investigations indicate that Prince was kidnapped by his friends over some dispute.

“However,the cause behind the heinous crime will come to the fore only after the arrest of the three accused persons,” he added.