Dismembered body of 16-year-old found in UP's Pilbhit, 3 arrested

The day after the dismembered body of a 16-year-old boy was recovered from the river in the Niuria police station area here, police on Saturday arrested three men in connection with the case, officials said.

The main accused, Shubham, along with Bobby and Pramod, have been arrested in connection with the murder of Puranlal alias Sagar, a resident of Bithra village.

"The arrested accused had an old rivalry with the deceased. The trio kidnapped him on Monday and, with the help of another accused, strangled him to death. The accused later dismembered the body to avoid its identification," Superintendent of Police (SP) Avinash Pandey said.

The victim's family claimed Shubham had threatened Sagar a week prior, asking whether he would play the "Holi of colors or blood."  According to the police, Sagar's body appeared to be 3-4 days old.

"The deceased was identified by a tattoo on his hand. His mother, Indravati, reported that Sagar left home on March 10th and his phone was switched off. A missing person report was filed after two days of searching," said the SHO.

Police have registered a case based on the family's complaint and sent the body for a post-mortem.