Guwahati: A 16-year-old boy was killed by his online friend in Guwahati on August 9, allegedly for money, said a police official.
Guwahati police commissioner Diganta Barah said the accused, Abhishek Barua ,23, has been arrested and confessed to the murder.
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He told the police that he killed the victim because the victim did not return the money he had borrowed from him and also blackmailed him.
The victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, and Abhishek met online through a gaming platform in 2019. They became friends and started meeting in person.
“The victim boy called up Abhishek and informed him that the next day, the he would not attend school. Instead, the victim would go to Abhishek’s place and would spend a day with him and also visit the waterfalls Amsang Wildlife Sanctuary near Bonda. The victim boy asked Abhishek to come to Bongaon, Beltola in the morning hours at school time,” Barah said.
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Abhishek agreed to meet the victim the next morning. “On the day of the incident, Abhishek came to Bongaon on his scooter and met the victim boy at around 6.30 am at a place near Basanat Doloi Path in Beltola. From there, both went to Narengi and halted for some time at Abhishek’s restaurant,” Barah said.
The victim changed his school uniform at the restaurant and they then went to the forest area in Amasang. The scooter was parked just outside the forest area and they walked in.
Abhishek had brought a long sword with him, which he said he would use to make his way through the forest.
While they were inside the forest, an argument broke out between the two friends. Abhishek pulled out the sword and slit the victim’s throat. He then caused more injuries to the victim’s body to ensure that he was dead.
Abhishek took off the victim’s trousers and wore them himself. He then left the scene of the crime and went home.
Abhishek later called the victim’s father and demanded a ransom of Rs 7 lakh.
The police were able to track down Abhishek and arrested him. He confessed to the murder and said that he killed the victim because he owed him money.
“Initially, in 2022, Abhishek borrowed Rs 30,000 from the victim boy on interest. The victim lent the money by borrowing it from his other friend. After one week, Abhishek returned Rs 40,000 to the victim. Subsequently, on two more occasions, Abhishek borrowed money from the victim and returned it on time with an interest amount,” said the police commissioner.
The victim boy used to take money from his friends in the name of investing in something (probably Bitcoin or cryptocurrencies) with the promise of doubling the investment amount.
The victim boy learned that the accused had obtained a large sum of money fraudulently. As a result, whenever the victim boy needed money for his business, he would borrow it from the accused in installments. In this way, the accused ended up lending the victim boy Rs 90,000.
On one occasion, when the accused and the victim were meeting at a place near Beltola, the accused was carrying a Samsung S22 phone. The victim saw the phone and asked to borrow it for a day, saying that he would use it to take pictures at school. The accused, in good faith, lent the phone to the victim for a day.
The victim boy continued to ask for more money from the accused, even though the accused did not have enough money to lend. The accused then demanded that the victim return the money he had already borrowed.
The victim boy started delaying the return of the money and threatened the accused that he had intimate photos of the accused and his girlfriend. He also threatened to disclose the fact that the accused had fraudulently transferred money from his father’s account to the accused’s family members if the accused insisted on returning the money.
Abhishek was under a lot of mental stress due to the threats, but he continued to communicate with the victim.
The victim’s body was found in the forest area on August 9. The police are investigating the case further.