Yash Mittal was pursuing a BBA course at a Noida university
The search for a missing college student has led the Noida police to unearth a shocking crime in which four youngsters murdered a friend after a party brawl and buried his body in a field.
Yash Mittal, son of a businessman and student of a Noida-based university, was missing from his hostel since Monday. His father Deepak Mittal informed police after he started getting ransom messages, demanding Rs 6 crore in return for his son's release.
When police scanned CCTV footage of the campus, they saw Yash leaving the university on Monday while speaking over the phone. Call records of his phone led them to his friend Rachit. On questioning him, police learnt that Yash would often hang out with Rachit, Shivam, Sushant and Shubham.
"On February 26, they called Yash to a field in Gajraula in Uttar Pradesh's Amroha (about 100 km away) for a party. He joined them soon after. During the party, a brawl broke out. They killed Yash and buried the body in the field. We recovered the body after Rachit identified the location," senior police officer Saad Miya Khan said.
Police tracked down the other accused in Dadri. The accused tried to escape, but were caught by police after an encounter. "We have arrested three accused after combing the area. One more accused, Shubham, is on the run. We will catch him soon," the officer added.
The officer said that the accused had told police that the ransom messages were sent to mislead Yash's family. Police had formed multiple teams to work on the case, he said.
Visuals from the field showed the youngster's parents breaking down after his body was dug out. The youngster, police said, was pursuing a Bachelor's degree in business administration at the Noida university before his tragic death.