UP Man Kidnapped, Murdered For 2 Crores Ransom, Cremated As Covid Victim

The 23-year-old son of a cold storage owner in Uttar Pradesh's Agra was kidnapped and murdered earlier this week by his friend and four others for a ransom of Rs 2 crore, the police said today. The accused, wearing PPE suits, cremated the body later, claiming the man died of COVID-19.

All five have been arrested.

According to the police, Sachin Chauhan, who went missing on June 21, was kidnapped and murdered on the same day.

Sachin Chauhan's friend and his associates allegedly had drinks with him at an abandoned water plant in Agra and suffocated him using lamination paper, the police said. Then they tried to cover up the crime by passing it off as a Covid-linked death.

Sachin Chauhan's parents approached the police a day after he went missing.

"Sachin's mother had called on his number and someone else picked up and claimed he was unavailable to talk. That was when the parents got suspicious," Muniraj G, the Agra police chief, said at a press conference.

He said the accused had planned to demand the ransom after the murder.

"They chose PPE kits and a crematorium to dispose the body thinking no one would get suspicious in the times of a pandemic. The murder took place on June 21 itself. They had planned to demand ransom after the murder. They had planned the crime about 25 days ago," the officer added.