Abducted Delhi man’s body found beheaded in Baghpat

THE SUSPECT ALLEGEDLY KILLED SHAHZAD WITH THE HELP OF HIS NEPHEW AND A FRIEND, AFTER THE VICTIM FAILED TO REPAY A ₹25K LOAN

NEW DELHI: A 52-year-old man was allegedly abducted from Delhi and killed in an agricultural field in Baghpat in Uttar Pradesh, where his headless and decomposed body was recovered by the local police on July 16, four days after the crime, police said on Sunday.

The accused, Riyasat, allegedly killed Shahzad with the help of his nephew and a friend, after the victim failed to repay a loan of ₹25,000. Riyasat and his associate, Javed, have been arrested; his nephew, Nadeem, is still absconding, the police said.

Riyasat told the police that he loaned ₹25,000 to Shahzad on three to four occasions on interest, and that the victim was required to return a certain amount per day over a fixed period, to repay the loan with interest. Shahzad last borrowed ₹4,500, and was to return ₹100 daily for two months as part of the loan deal, said deputy commissioner of police (Shahdara) R Sathiyasundaram.

“Shahzad stopped paying the daily amount after 12 days. When Riyasat demanded his money back, Shahzad picked up a fight with him. To avenge his insult, Riyasat abducted Shahzad with the help of Nadeem and Javed,” the DCP said.

Police said on July 13, Shahzad’s family members registered a report at the Seemapuri police station. They said Shahzad left home on July 12, but did not return and his mobile phone was also not reachable. He worked as a house painter.

When the police and Shahzad’s family members were looking for him, a headless and decomposed body was found in a field in Baghpat on July 16.

The Seemapuri police learnt about it and took Shahzad’s family members to Baghpat, where they identified the body by its clothes and the identification marks. The head was missing, the DCP said.

“We registered a case of kidnapthe ping, murder and destruction of evidence under Indian Penal Code’s Sections 365, 302 and 201 at the Seemapuri police station and investigation was taken up,” said DCP Sathiyasundaram.

During initial probe, the police suspected the role of Shahzad’s daughter-in-law and her family members, after learning that she filed a rape case against him and his brother last year. However, no evidence was found against them.

Then, the police came to know that Shahzad used to borrow money from Riyasat, who lived in the same neighbourhood. It was also established that Shahzad was last seen with Riyasat. When Riyasat was questioned, he confessed to the murder and revealed the role of Nadeem and Javed.

“We arrested Riyasat and Javed on Saturday night. Riyasat said that he lured Shahzad to Baghpat on pretext of providing him a contract to paint a house. Javed and Nadeem joined them on the way. They offered liquor to Shahzad, and when he was drunk, Riyasat and Nadeem took him to the field and killed him with a meat cleaver. They then severed Shahzad’s head and threw it in a canal near Muradnagar,” DCP Sathiyasundaram said.