Yuvraj aka Yash Prajapati took a loan of Rs 3 lakh from his uncle a month ago and invested it in Bitcoin. When his uncle began demanding the money back, police said, Yuvraj (21), devised a plan to get out of repaying it.
On September 16, police said, he took his 12-year-old cousin out on the pretext of watching a movie and allegedly killed him.
Ghaziabad Police arrested the accused on Sunday after the victim’s body was found in a deserted park in Delhi. Police also recovered a blood-stained brick, mud and clothing from the spot.
Police said the accused works as a cabin crew with an airline and is a resident of Shiv Park in Khoda Colony.
Assistant Commissioner of Police, Indirapuram, Abhishek Shrivastav, said the boy had gone missing on September 16. “His mother filed a missing person’s complaint at Khoda police station. Police lodged a complaint under BNS 137(2), following which teams were formed to trace him,” he said.
“When we began probing the case, we found that his cousin, Yuvraj, had taken him along on his bike on the night of September 16 to a park in Delhi’s Preet Vihar. There, he strangled the child to death, smashed his head with a brick and left his body there,” said the ACP.
The ACP said that during questioning, Yuvraj admitted to killing the boy.
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According to officers, Yuvraj told investigators that he had taken Rs 3 lakh from his uncle and invested it in cryptocurrency. When his uncle repeatedly asked him for the money, Yuvraj allegedly devised a plan to kill the boy, believing it would not only relieve him of the debt but also make him the eventual heir to his uncle’s property.
Shrivastav said that when CCTV footage of the area was scanned, the boy was seen on a bike.
“Yuvraj’s uncle had sold his house for Rs 25 lakh which was mediated by the accused. When the client gave him Rs 3 lakh, he borrowed the money from his uncle and invested in Bitcoin. His uncle began asking him for Rs 50,000,” said officers.
“I had no money to give him. My uncle trusted my family a lot. He had a daughter and a son. I thought if I killed the son, I would inherit all his property and would not have to pay him back. I took my uncle’s ATM card and passbook on the pretext of returning the money, and asked my cousin to come along on the pretext of a movie,” Yuvraj allegedly told the police during questioning.
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Police also said Yuvraj later joined the family in the search for the missing child to deflect suspicion.
“On the basis of technical surveillance, CCTV inputs and local intelligence, the accused was traced and arrested. He has admitted to the crime,” said a senior police officer.
The FIR, initially registered under Section 137(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for kidnapping, now includes murder charges under Section 103(1) BNS.
