Relative among three held for Mandawali siblings murder

Three persons were arrested on Sunday for the kidnap and murder of two siblings from Mandawali, East Delhi. Police said Amit Singh alias Dabbu, Shivam Gupta and Pankaj Kashyap have been arrested while their accomplice Abhishek is on the run.

According to police, Singh, a distant relative of the children, had planned the kidnapping to raise money for a real estate deal he wanted to close. On February 26, Singh went to the school where the two children studied to fetch them after school hours. Since the children — a seven year-old boy and his five-year-old sister — knew Singh, they went with him, police said.

The men then called the children's parents demanding a ransom of Rs 30 lakh.

Meanwhile, the bodies of the children were spotted in the bushes near Pragati Maidan on Saturday morning by a taxi driver, who informed police.

During investigation, police said they found evidence suggesting that the kidnappers knew the family. "All the ransom calls were made from PCOs located in the vicinity of the children's home. The phone conversation also suggested that the accused knew the family and were aware of even the small details. They also knew the financial condition of the family," Deputy Commissioner of Police (East) Prabhakar said.

Police found that Singh had recently rented a room in a lane behind the children's house. He was unemployed and was trying to raise funds for a real estate deal.

During questioning, Singh told police that he had planned to kidnap the children for money.

"Singh had become friends with the three others around eight months ago. They often drank together at his rented room. He wanted to enter the real estate market and wanted to close a deal for a flat in Allah Colony in Mandawali. He needed Rs 6 lakh for it. Kashyap needed money as he had suffered heavy losses due to his habit of gambling and had a debt of more than Rs 1.5 lakh. Gupta and Abhishek needed money to support their lifestyle," Prabhakar said.

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