Varanasi man kills friend, claims he ‘tricked him into eating meat’

Aftab’s family, however, denied allegations that he tricked Virender into eating “cow meat”. “My son had roommates from different communities… no one ever made such a complaint,” alleged Aftab’s father, Kalamuddin (53).

“The allegations made by the accused are completely false. We suspect Aftab was killed over money, employment… important documents of his are missing. All the money from my son’s two bank accounts has been withdrawn by the accused,” he further alleged.

Aftab, a graduate, was the eldest of Kalamuddin’s two sons.

“I sent my son to other states to earn money and support our family… The accused is giving false explanations to divert attention from the main issue and to save himself,” Kalamuddin, who works in a factory in Noida, added.

According to police, on January 8, they recovered the body of an unidentified person in a field. The body was later identified as Aftab’s after an identity card was found in a bag near the body. Police contacted the deceased’s family in Bihar and sent the body for a post-mortem.

During the probe, police said they collected call detail records and bank details of the victim and found that he was in regular touch with a number, which they traced to Virendra. They also discovered that Rs 40,000 had been transferred to Virendra’s bank account from Aftab’s.

Police said it was found that Virendra and Aftab had been working together as helpers in a Bengaluru-based firm. The victim was recently transferred to Chennai, while Virendra was posted in Gujarat. Both men were unmarried.

Police began looking for Virendra, whose phone was found switched off. Police finally traced and arrested him on Monday in Varanasi. During questioning, police claimed he admitted to the crime.

According to police, Virendra claimed that Aftab had gone home on leave and later called to inform him that he would be leaving Bihar on January 7 to rejoin duty in Chennai. He allegedly planned to eliminate Aftab and told him to come to Varanasi instead. In the meantime, Virendra sought leave from work and took a train to Varanasi.

The two met at the Varanasi railway station on January 7. After exchanging pleasantries, Virendra told Aftab he would go home and meet him later.

In the evening, Virendra and a friend went on a motorcycle to meet Aftab at a spot near the railway station. Police said the two accused then brought Aftab to a secluded place on the pretext of taking him home, but allegedly attacked and strangled him. They threw his body in the field and escaped.

Police claimed to have recovered the victim’s PAN card, Aadhaar card, and other personal documents from the accused’s possession. Police said they are also looking for Virendra’s associate.