Bokaro, June 12 (IANS) In a shocking crime in Bokaro Steel City in Jharkhand, 19-year-old college student Devashish Kumar was kidnapped and murdered by his own friend, who then buried the body in the courtyard of a government quarter, police officials revealed this on Thursday.

The accused, Aman Kumar Vats, has been arrested by the police.

According to Bokaro SP Harvinder Singh, Devashish’s body was recovered from a pit in the courtyard of a quarter in Gaiman Colony under the Marafari police station.

Aman, along with a few accomplices, had abducted Devashish and demanded a ransom of Rs 25 lakh from his family. When the ransom wasn’t paid, Aman strangled him to death and buried the body. The search is on for other individuals involved.

Devashish, a resident of Sector-3, Bokaro, had recently passed his Class 12 Science examination from Ayyappa School. His father, Vijendra Kumar, works in a private company in Chhattisgarh, while Devashish lived in Bokaro with his mother.

On June 10, he received a call from Aman and left home in the afternoon. When he didn’t return, his mother grew worried and found his phone switched off.

After an unsuccessful search, Rita Devi, his mother, filed a missing person report at the Bokaro Steel City Police Station on June 11.

That same day, a disturbing video was sent from Devashish’s phone to his cousin. It showed Devashish tied up with ropes, and the kidnappers demanded Rs 25 lakh, threatening to kill him if the ransom wasn’t paid.

Acting on the lead, police traced the mobile location with the help of the technical cell and apprehended Aman Kumar Vats. During interrogation, Aman confessed to the crime and led police to the burial site in Gaiman Colony.

Aman also admitted to being involved in cybercrime. His bank account has been frozen by the cyber police, and in need of money, he planned the abduction to extort a ransom. When the plan failed, he murdered Devashish, buried him, and tried to cover up the crime.

Police recovered several items from the scene, including the iron rod used to dig the pit, three mobile phones, a SIM card, a 32GB memory card, a liquor bottle, clothes and slippers of the deceased, the accused’s shoes, and other evidence.

–IANS

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