17-yr-old kidnapped, killed by friend for ransom of Rs 40 lakh in Pune

Pune, Jan 12: A 17-year-old boy was allegedly kidnapped and killed by his friend for a ransom of Rs 40 lakh in Maharashtra's Pune city, a police official said on Sunday.

The body of the victim, identified as Abdulahad Siddiqui, was found in the premises of Savitribai Phule Pune University here in the wee hours of Sunday, he said. His family runs a scrap business in Pimpri Chinchwad area of Pune.

The accused, Umar Nasir Shaikh (20), has been arrested and booked under IPC sections for kidnapping and murder, a senior official at Bhosari police station said.

"Shaikh took his friend Siddiqui from Dapodi area in Pimpri Chinchwad on Saturday evening on the pretext of going for a party. After roaming around, he took the victim to the university campus where he allegedly strangulated him to death," the official said.

The accused then called another friend of Siddiqui using the latter's mobile phone. He asked the friend to inform Siddiqui's elder brother that his sibling has been kidnapped.

"When Siddiqui's brother called, Shaikh demanded Rs 40 lakh from him. The family then approached us. The voice in the call recordings was identified as that of Shaikh following which we zeroed-in on him," he said.

Shaikh was detained for questioning and after sustained interrogation, he spilled the beans and showed police the place where he had abandoned the body, the official said. The accused told the police that he hatched a plan to kidnap his friend for money after seeing a movie called "Khatarnak Khiladi-2", he added.