A 23-year-old man, identified as Sachin Chauhan, who was kidnapped and murdered by his friend and four others, was cremates as Covid-19 victim in Uttar Pradesh' Agra.
Chauhan was kidnapped for a ransom of Rs 2 crore and was later killed. His body was buried by the accused claiming he died of COVID-19. The five accused have been arrested by the police.
According to reports, he was taken to an abandoned water plant in the city and the accused had drinks with him. He was later choked to death by a lamination paper. The accused disposed off the body by passing it off as a covid 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.
He was kidnapped and murdered on the same day, the police said.