New Delhi: The body of a 21-year-old Delhi University student, who was allegedly kidnapped on March 22, was found in Dwarka, police said on Thursday.
Police have arrested the accused — Istiaq (25) — who confessed to killing the student on March 22 after a tiff and said he had cooked up the kidnapping story to mislead the victim's family and the police, they added.
The accused told the police that he got in touch with the victim through a dating site and had met thrice in 10 days. The victim, Ayush Nautiyal, was a student of Ram Lal Anand College in south campus.
On March 22, when they met, they had a fight which got aggravated and the accused attacked Nautiyal multiple times on the head with a hammer, the police said.
He had left home on March 22 at around 11 pm after informing his family that he would get late since there was a college fest. In the evening, when he did not return till late, his family members called him but his phone was switched off.
After some time, his family received a WhatsApp message from his phone in which the kidnappers demanded a ransom of Rs 50 lakh. The accused had also shared a photo in which Nautiyal was gagged and his head was bandaged. His clothes had blood stains on them, they added.
The accused threatened the family that if the ransom was not paid, he would kill Nautiyal.
Police said that the accused constantly kept changing his location and despite laying a trap for him, he could not be traced. The family had even arranged Rs 10 lakh for paying the ransom.
Last night, a body was found in Dwarka Sector 13 in a drain. Later, it was identified as that of Nautiyal.
During investigation, it was found that the deceased had gone to a restaurant in Dwarka Sector 14 with another man on March 22. On the basis of that clue, the police proceeded in their investigation.
On the basis of a photograph that the police had procured from a CCTV camera at the restaurant, it was found that the man accompanying him is a former student of a fashion institute. Details of students were sought from the institute and subsequently, he was nabbed from Uttam Nagar.
The accused, who works with various export houses to provide clothing samples, cooked up the kidnapping story to mislead the police and the family and also to get time to dispose of Nautiyal's body.
Joint Commissioner of Police, New Delhi, Ajay Chaudhary, said that the family was with them in every stage of the probe but it was unfortunate that the victim was killed.
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