LUCKNOW: A 16-year-old girl was allegedly abducted and murdered in Lucknow’s Para area by two young men and their associates. The main accused — Anshu Gautam (20) and Aashiq Yadav (21) — along with Rishu Yadav (20) and Vaibhav Singh Rajput (23), have been arrested.
Police said the girl had come in contact with Anshu and Aashiq, who are friends, through social media and would speak to both of them frequently over the phone. “Both believed the girl was in love with them. When they discovered she was talking to both, they saw it as betrayal and decided to kill her,” said SHO Suresh Singh.
According to police, the two, with the help of their associates, abducted the girl on January 13, strangled her inside an SUV, and later dumped her body in an attempt to make the murder appear like a suicide. The girl’s family filed a missing person complaint on January 16, following which a kidnapping case was registered.
After the murder was confirmed, police added charges under BNS sections 140(1) (kidnapping with intent to murder), 103(1) (murder), 238 (causing disappearance of evidence), and 3(5) (common intention), the SHO said.
Based on phone records and CCTV footage, all four accused were arrested on January 26. The SUV used in the crime has also been seized.
DCP (West Zone) Vishwajeet Srivastava said Anshu had called the girl to meet him. When she arrived at the location, he allegedly forced her into an SUV where the other three accused were already present. “The group killed the girl inside the moving vehicle and later placed the body on railway tracks in Sarojininagar, about 12 km from the abduction site,” he said.
