LUCKNOW: Varanasi police have arrested a 24-year-old man for allegedly killing his friend, whose body was found in a field earlier this month.
Police said the accused, Virendra Yadav, confessed to murdering his former colleague, Aftab Alam (28), claiming he was driven by humiliation after allegedly being tricked into eating “cow meat” by the victim.
On January 8, 2026, police received information about an unidentified body lying near a pond in Mahagaon Madai village. A team reached the spot and recovered the body, noting blood stains around the mouth and nose. During the search, officers found a bag containing an identity card in the name of Aftab Alam, son of Kalamuddin, along with details of his employer, Siddharth Automatic India Private Limited. The deceased was later identified as a resident of Chapra, Bihar.
After completing inquest formalities, the body was sent for post-mortem examination and later handed over to the family, who performed the last rites in their native village.
On January 21, the victim’s family approached Sindhaura police station in Varanasi, suspecting foul play. They pointed to suspicious financial transactions from Aftab’s bank account to Virendra’s account. ACP Prateek Kumar said that on January 8 — the day the body was recovered — ₹40,000 was transferred via UPI from the victim’s account to the accused.
Following the complaint, police registered a murder case and launched an investigation. Virendra Yadav, a resident of Laskarpur village under Cholapur police station in Varanasi, was identified as the prime suspect and arrested on January 25.
During interrogation, Virendra told police that he and Aftab had previously lived and worked together as helpers at a Bengaluru-based firm. He alleged that in September last year, Aftab deceived him into eating meat and later revealed the incident to others, which led to ridicule and humiliation. Police said the accused claimed this humiliation pushed him to plan and carry out the murder.
