Missing teen lured using social media profile, kidnapped and murdered, probe on

Police said the suspects told them about using a girl's Instagram profile to lure the victim. (Credit: Unsplash)

A probe into the disappearance of a 17-year-old boy from Vishrantwadi has revealed that he was lured using a girl’s Instagram profile before being kidnapped and murdered over a past dispute. Police have arrested two youths and detained two minors who told the police they murdered him and buried his body at a location outside Pune.

According to the information given by Pune police, a 44-year-old woman Anita Gachand, a resident of Tingre Nagar, approached the Vishrantwadi police station on December 31. She reported that her son Amansingh Gachand (17), had left the house on his two-wheeler on December 29 and had not returned home. As the missing person’s case was that of a minor, the police registered a kidnapping case at Vishrantwadi police station against unidentified accused on the same day, December 31.

As the police teams from Vishrantwadi police station and Crime Branch Unit 3, launched a parallel probe, they zeroed in on four suspects. Initial probe revealed that four had a dispute with the victim in the past and had kidnapped him as a fallout of that hostility. The four suspects could not be found in Pune and were reported missing from their houses.

“Based on technical leads, our investigation team found out that the suspects were in Belgaum in Karnataka. Teams were dispatched and four suspects were detained. In their questioning, the suspects confessed to having kidnapped and murdered the victim.” said an officer. Police have identified the two arrested suspects as Prathmesh Chindhu Adhal (19) and Nagesh Balaji Dhabale (19) while the remaining two suspects are minors and have been detained. The two arrested suspects were produced before a court on Tuesday and were remanded to police custody till January 9. The two minor accused were arraigned before the Juvenile Justice Board and have been sent to observation home.

“The suspects have told us that after they murdered the victim, they buried his body to destroy the evidence. We have sent teams to the location given by them. They have also told us they used a girl’s Instagram profile to lure the victim. We are verifying this.” said an officer.