TV show-inspired DU student kills Class 11 boy, held

Taking a cue from popular TV crime series "Crime Patrol", a Delhi University student, along with two accomplices, strangulated to death a Class 11 student here for trying to woo his girlfriend, and then enacted an abduction drama to cover their involvement, police said on Monday.

However, this step proved to be their undoing as it enabled police to solve the crime.

Deputy Commissioner of Police Ishwar Singh told IANS that Navin, a first year BA student in Delhi University's Aryabhatta College, had a grudge with 17-year-old Jatin for trying to become friends with his girlfriend.

On Saturday evening, Navin and his friends Akash and a minor, all residents of Mehrauli area of south Delhi, invited Jatin for samosas at a roadside eatery in Chattarpur, then took him to a nearby farmhouse where first, they beat him and then strangulated him to death.

They hid his body in a nearby forest while taking away his phone and other belongings, including his ID card, Singh said.

The family of Jatin, in the meantime, called him on his mobile phone after he did not return home.

The accused initially ignored the calls but spoke to his parents later, posing as kidnappers and demanding a ransom of Rs 20 lakh to set him free. They then switched off Jatin's mobile phone.

"The family members informed police about Jatin's kidnapping. We tracked down the location of his phone and found his scooter.

"The teams also examined all the CCTV footage of major intersections and roads, and found three masked youth on a bike," Singh said, adding one of Jatin's friends identified the bike as belonging to Akash.

Akash was picked up for questioning, and during interrogation, admitted to being involved in the murder and revealed the mastermind was Naveen, a former student of Jatin's school in Mehrauli.

"Naveen hatched the crime after watching 'Crime Petrol' and killed Jatin, along with him and their minor friend, in a fit of rage as Jatin wanted to become friends with his girlfriend," the officer added.

--IANS

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