3 held in teen murder case after body found in abandoned house

Noida: Three people were arrested for the murder of a 15-year-old boy from Jewar on Wednesday after a brief gunfight with a police team. Officers said two of them were injured in retaliatory firing while the third man surrendered.On May 21, a family from Banwaribans village filed a complaint at the local police station alleging that 15-year-old Gopal had gone missing from outside the house. Police recovered his body from an abandoned house in the neighbouring Rohi village. His kin and villagers took to the streets demanding strict action against the teenager’s murderers. Heavy police deployment was made in the area following the recovery of the body.Additional commissioner of police Rajeev Narayan said the investigation led police to three suspects — Naresh Mehto, Mohit, Umesh Kumar — residents of Rohi village.The men were spotted riding a motorcycle near Sabota cut on Wednesday. When police teams signalled them to stop, they allegedly tried to flee and opened fire after finding themselves surrounded. Police retaliated, injuring Naresh and Umesh in the leg, while Mohit surrendered on the spot. The two men were admitted to a hospital for treatment and will later be produced before a court.Police claimed that the men had murdered Gopal over resentment stemming from a confrontation with his grandmother around one and a half months ago. Gopal knew the three men and often went out with them to smoke hookah. When his grandmother learnt about his association with them, she purportedly went to their village and reprimanded the men for influencing the minor. The men claimed they felt humiliated by the incident and became a subject of ridicule in the village.“Following the argument with the grandmother, they started planning the murder,” a police officer said.The men lured Gopal to an abandoned house on May 21 and made him smoke a hookah. They allegedly laced the tobacco with a hallucinogenic substance, causing the teenager to feel dizzy and disoriented. Once he became weak, they repeatedly slammed his head against a wall. Gopal collapsed and bled profusely from his head. Instead of fleeing immediately, the men waited at the spot until they were certain that the boy had died. They then abandoned the body inside the vacant house and escaped.Investigators said the three accused were planning to flee the district on Wednesday when police intercepted them.Police further revealed that Umesh works as a contractor involved in labour supply, Naresh runs a grocery shop opposite the crime scene, and Mohit works as a vehicle helper.Officials said further legal proceedings are underway and additional evidence is being collected in the case.