Missing youths could have been murdered

The bodies were identified as that of Manjit and Narender after the relatives went to Shahjahanpur. The latter suspect that the youths were murdered.

Neither the possible kidnapping nor the alleged murder was reported to the media during this period, despite the police commissioner8217;s recent order to all police district chiefs that such information should not be kept under wraps.

The relatives of Manjit and Narender also allege that the youths were poisoned to death by some some gangsters. Narender Kumar is a first cousin of notorious gangster Kishen Pehlwan, and the relatives claim that arival gang could have been trying to get even by bumping off the youths.

On June 20, Manjit and Narender went to a school in Shadipur, Haryana, along with their aunt and cousin. After their aunt picked up a certificate from the school for their cousin, Manjit and Narender headed back to Delhi.

When they reached the Rajdhani Park area in Nangloi, a woman identifying herself as Asha Rani asked for a lift. Manjit and Narender then dropped their aunt and cousin at the latter8217;s Dichau Kalan village house, and moved on towards Nangloi along with the girl.

That was the last time that the youths were seen. Their relatives lodged a complaint with the local police next day, but a case of kidnapping was registered only on June 25.

Though the bodies of the youths were found on June 21, the Delhi Police did not have any information in this regard. After the relatives informed the police on June 30, the bodies were brought back to the Capital and sent for post-mortem.

While the relatives claim that the youths were kidnapped and poisoned, the police are reluctant to draw conclusions till they receive the post-mortem report.

The relatives also say that Manjit and Narender were killed because Balraj 8212; the leader of a rival gang 8212; had been killed at the behest of the their cousin Kishen Pehlwan three months ago.

That the incident could possibly be the result of inter-gang rivalry seems to have forced the west Delhi police to go into a huddle. Most of the senior officials as well as the local policemen refused give further details.

The case was transferred to the Crime Branch today, following orders from the police commissioner.