Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram
Journalism of Courage
Premium
This is an archive article published on April 11, 2011
Third accused held in Kanpur student murder case
The state Special Task Force team on early Sunday morning arrested Abhishek Awasthi,who had been absconding in Karan Maheshwari (14) kidnapping-cum-murder case since July 2009,from Phoolbagh ground.
Written by Express News Service
Kanpur | April 11, 2011 02:14 AM IST
3 min read
3 min read
The state Special Task Force (STF) team on early Sunday morning arrested Abhishek Awasthi,who had been absconding in Karan Maheshwari (14) kidnapping-cum-murder case since July 2009,from Phoolbagh ground. A country-made pistol of 315 bore,two cartridges,two cellphones and three sim cards were recovered from his possession. The state police had announced a cash reward of Rs 30,000 on Abhisheks arrest.
A Class IX student of UP Kirana Seva Samiti Vidyalaya,Karan was kidnapped from Kidwai Nagar area on July 9,2009. Even after receiving Rs 2 lakh ransom from the victims father Pawan Maheshwari,the kidnappers brutally murdered the minor. Karans body was thrown in Unnao district and after the postmortem,Unnao police had buried the unclaimed body near the banks of river Ganga. On July 12,2009,Pawan Maheshwari identified his sons body through the photograph in the police records. Kanpur police had arrested Ankit Awasthi and Jai Kishan Awasthi alias Jackie on July 19,2009,but Abhishek managed to escape. For their alleged involvement in the crime,Abhisheks father Anil,mother Mithilesh and cousin Anirudh were also arrested. All five arrested persons are in Kanpur jail.
After his arrest,24-year-old Abhishek told media persons at Pheelkhana police station on Sunday that his cousin Jackie was the mastermind of the crime. He said: With the intention of kidnapping Karan,Jackie became his friend,and thereafter he informed me and my younger brother Ankit about his plans. To get quick money,Abhishek and Ankit agreed to support Jackie in the crime. Abhishek said: On July 9,Jackie and I kidnapped Karan from Kidwai Nagar area on my scooter and brought him to Jackies residence at Harishganj. The task of keeping an eye on police activities at Kidwai Nagar was given to Ankit. Abhishek said: We kept Karan in a vacant room at Jackies residence till his father paid the ransom.
According to Abhishek,Karan was killed after he threatened to reveal the kidnappers names after his release. After the crime,Abhishek fled to Jammu and Kashmir. From there I went to Surat and started working in a private firm as a labourer, he added. After a year in Surat,he moved to Mumbai in September 2010 and joined a private unit. I came to Kanpur on Saturday to consult my friends and family members about my surrender in the case, he said. But before I could meet my friends,the STF arrested me. Abhishek said that in past 21 months,he visited the city only once. For his involvement in the crime,Abhishek got Rs 70,000.
Circle Officer,STF,Triveni Singh said they came to know about Abhisheks plan to visit Kanpur on Saturday evening,and spotted him at Phoolbagh ground at 4.10 am. Singh added: We asked Abhishek to surrender but he opened fire on our team and made a futile attempt to escape. The STF team lodged an FIR against him at Pheelkhana police station on the charges of attempt to murder and illegal possession of arms. The police official further said: Abhishek has confessed to his involvement and we are yet to interrogate him further.
Advertisement
Top Stories
Live Blog
Loading Taboola...
Advertisement