Uttar Pradesh: Kidnapped 11-year-old boy’s body found

Angry villagers blocked the Meerut-Shamli highway. Google maps.

Angry villagers blocked the Meerut-Shamli highway on Tuesday evening after the decomposed body of a 11-year-old boy, who was kidnapped from near a Kanwar camp in Baghpat district about a week ago, was recovered near the Hindon river bridge. The cause of death is yet to be ascertained and the postmortem report is awaited.

The deceased, Aryan, was kidnapped while he was accompanying his father Ravindra Kumar — a small-time businessman dealing in leather goods — at a camp for kanwariyas on July 28. Soon after, the family received a phone call from the kidnappers, who demanded Rs 1.5 crore as ransom. The money had to be paid within two days or else, the boy would be killed, they had said.

Meerut Zone IG Sujeet Pandey had then claimed that the ransom call was being traced and police teams have been formed to rescue the boy. However, on Tuesday, the body was sighted by a villager, who informed the police.

The boy’s parents, along with hundreds of villagers, blocked the highway alleging police inaction. They demanded action against Doghat police station personnel. Meerut Range DIG Lakshmi Singh and SP Baghpat Poonam rushed to the spot to pacify the agitators.