Man kills boy, 6, for ransom, later says he ‘ogled’ at wife

NEWDELHI: A man allegedly killed a 6-year-old boy after keeping him locked inside the storage box of a bed for more than 24 hours, police said on Friday when the child’s rotting body led neighbours to it.

Rohit Prasad was arrested on Friday morning after the body was found in his room and he initially told police, according to senior officers, that he killed the child for peeping at his wife when she bathed and passing lewd comments at her.

“He misled police the entire day and finally accepted that he had kidnapped the child to seek a ransom of ~20,000 from his parents,” said Romil Baaniya, DCP (south-east). According to Baaniya, Prasad did not know how to execute the plan and realised the child can identify him before he decided to strangle the victim.

“He made up the ogling story thinking it would get him off with a lighter punishment,” the DCP said.

The victim went missing around 4 pm on Wednesday while playing with friends in his neighbourhood in JJR Camp, Okhla Phase 2. His relatives, neighbours and police searched for him but could not trace him. Neighbours said Prasad led some of the searches, ostensibly to avoid suspicion. It was around 9.30 am on Friday that neighbours sensed a foul smell from a room owned by the suspect. NEW DELHI: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has decided to agitate against Delhi Metro authorities if they go ahead with a plan to hike commuter fares in the national capital.

Gopal Rai, the Delhi unit convenor of AAP, on Friday said the party was univocally opposed to hikes in public transport fare. “We will launch a protest campaign if the DMRC (Delhi Metro Rail Corporation) remains adamant on its plan to increase Metro fares. A delegation of party MLAS will meet the DMRC chief on Monday, and ask him to reconsider the decision,” he told reporters at a press conference.

Rai also expressed surprise at the manner in which the DMRC decided to increase commuter fares twice in 2017, after refraining from taking any such step in the last eight years.

The Delhi Metro’s minimum fare was hiked from ~8 to ~10, and the maximum from ~30 to ~50, in May this year. If the fares are increased on October 10, the maximum figure will go up from ~50 to ~60.

“The DMRC’S move to increase the fare will force the people to opt for alternative modes of transport, which will aggravate pollution and congestion. The decision to hike fares should be reviewed,” said Rai.

The AAP convenor said the Metro has been playing a major role in providing Delhi residents with a means of easy and safe transport.