Boy, 16, held for 9-yr-old neighbour146;s murder

A 16-YEAR-OLD boy allegedly strangled his nine-year-old neighbour in the Dindoshi area of Goregaon in Mumbai on Friday afternoon.

A 16-YEAR-OLD boy allegedly strangled his nine-year-old neighbour in the Dindoshi area of Goregaon in Mumbai on Friday afternoon. He wrapped the body in a plastic sheet and kept it locked in his cupboard for two days. All this, over a football. The police, however, have not confirmed the motive yet.

Deputy Commissioner of Police Shivaji Bodke said that the accused is an Internet addict and is a member of a popular social networking site where he chats for hours. Bodke said that the accused may have picked up ideas from the Internet on 8220;how to commit a crime8221;.

8220;The accused is an adopted child. He was depressed after he learnt he was adopted when he was two days old. He was undergoing counselling,8221; said Bodke.

Additional Commissioner of Police Tukaram Chauhan said the accused has admitted to strangling the nine-year-old boy, Parth Panchal.

The incident came to light on Sunday morning when the body began to emanate foul smell. The accused had moved Parth8217;s body from the cupboard to the bed-box. The police said that the boy had locked his cupboard and kept his clothes out. 8220;Last night, his mother spotted the clothes and told him to keep his clothes inside or else she would would do it. After she left, he decided to shift the body,8221; said Bodke.

8220;Around 5 am, his father who works as a sharebroker and lives opposite Parth8217;s house came to me and said his son had murdered Parth. He fainted,8221; said Raju, a neighbour, who informed the police. Raju called some boys from the building to ensure that the accused couldn8217;t escape. The police have detained and booked the 16-year-old for murder and hiding evidence.

Parth had been missing since Friday afternoon. Neighbours, including the accused8217;s parents, had been helping his parents to look for him. 8220;During questioning, the accused said that Parth would irritate him by asking him for his football, and so, he decided to kill him. The accused had kept Parth8217;s football with him for sometime and had refused to return it,8221; said Senior Police Inspector U A Karmude.

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The police said the accused had purchased a nylon rope and gloves about a week ago. He said that he had seen it in films that using gloves was 8220;safe while committing murder8221;, Karmude said. The police have also recovered the nylon rope that he had used to strangle Parth.

The accused also said that he had feigned ignorance about Parth8217;s whereabouts when the latter8217;s cousin came looking for him on Friday evening. After this, the police said, the 16-year-old once again throttled Parth with his hands to make sure he was dead.

Rajesh Panchal, Parth8217;s uncle, said: 8220;Suddenly, for past 15 days, the accused had become very friendly with Parth. So we think that the murder was pre-planned.8221;