Gorakhpur, Jul 28 (PTI) A 10-year-old boy, who went missing while playing outside his home in Gorakhpur’s Khajni town, was allegedly kidnapped and murdered by a neighbour, police said on Tuesday.
The child’s body was recovered from the basement of the accused’s house, barely 20 metres from the victim’s residence.
The victim, Vaibhav Verma, a Class 4 student and grandson of a prominent jeweller, Laxmi Narayan Verma, had gone missing on Monday afternoon after returning from school.
According to police, he reached home around 1.30 pm, changed out of his school uniform and left on his bicycle to play in the neighbourhood.
When he did not return, family members began searching for him and his bicycle was later found abandoned near the house, while one of his slippers was recovered from a nearby vacant field.
A complaint was lodged with police and search operations were launched.
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Dr Kaustubh formed five teams to trace the child. Police, along with forensic experts and a dog squad, scanned the area and examined CCTV footage.
During the investigation, a CCTV clip allegedly showed Vaibhav walking with a neighbour, Sarvesh Bhatt, a computer teacher residing a few houses away from the victim’s family. Police detained Bhatt for questioning, during which he allegedly confessed to kidnapping and killing the child.
Based on his disclosure, police recovered Vaibhav’s body from the basement of Bhatt’s two-storey house. Investigators said the accused had allegedly concealed the body in a sack among stored grain bags in an apparent attempt to avoid suspicion and dispose of it later.
Police said Vaibhav was familiar with the accused, which may have enabled Bhatt to gain the child’s trust and take him along without resistance.
The recovery of the body triggered outrage in the locality. Family members and residents staged protests and briefly blocked roads, demanding the harshest punishment for the accused. Women from the neighbourhood also gathered outside the police station seeking swift action.
Additional SP, South Dinesh Kumar Puri assured the family that stringent action would be taken against those involved in the crime.
Police have taken the accused into custody and are continuing the investigation to establish the motive behind the murder.
The tragedy has deeply affected the family, which had already suffered a personal loss. Vaibhav’s mother, Shweta Verma, had died after a prolonged illness about six weeks ago.
Family members said the boy had been spending most of his time with his father, Hanuman Verma, since her death.
Police have sent the body for post-mortem examination and are investigating all aspects of the case. PTI COR ABN NB NB
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