Delhi: Man kills 7-year-old boy, stuffs him in suitcase over grudge against parents

New Delhi: A 27-year-old man has been arrested in New Delhi for killing a minor boy over a grudge against his parents, police said on Tuesday. Police said the accused — Avadhesh, arrested on Monday night, is familiar with the victim’s family and is a distant relative. He stayed in a neighbouring house near the victim — seven-year-old Ashish — in Swaroop Nagar in west Delhi. [caption id=“attachment_4272213” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. Reuters[/caption] “Avadhesh told police Ashish’s parents used to abuse him in his absence and did not like his visits to their house,” Deputy Commissioner of Police Aslam Khan told IANS. “He killed Ashish, wrapped the body and placed it in a cupboard. He, however, pretended to be a well-wisher before Ashish’s family,” she added. “He did not try to dump the body as he knew CCTVs are installed in the streets. Instead, he killed some rats and placed them in his room. When asked about the stink, he showed one of the rats,” she added. “We have recovered the body and sent it for post-mortem,” the police officer said. Avadhesh also lied to Ashish’s family and said he works with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). He told police he was preparing for a competitive examination and also appeared for a UPSC examination once. Police said Ashish Singh went missing on 7 January following which Avadhesh, along with the grandfather of the victim had registered a missing complaint in Swaroop Nagar police station. Avadhesh did that in order to avoid any suspicion. “During investigation, police teams examined all CCTV footage, took help of local surveillance but did not get any solid lead to track the minor boy,” DCP Khan said. “Since no ransom call was made, we investigated the case with all possible angles instead of kidnapping. During investigation, Avadhesh presented himself as a very confident person. Police teams recorded his, other family members’ and others’ statements,” she said. The victim’s parents, who run a grocery shop, suspected Avadhesh after he stopped visiting their house for the last three days. He was a frequent visitor earlier. “The family informed police and during cross-checking, Avadhesh changed his statements continuously. At last, he broke down and confessed his crime,” the officer added.