THANE: A birthday bash and a dream of buying a motorcycle allegedly led two Class 12 students to murder their 17-year-old schoolmate, burn his body and attempt to cover their tracks by throwing his mobile phone onto a moving bus. The two minors, both residents of Azad Nagar in Thane, allegedly killed the teenager to steal his 7-gram gold chain, worth around ₹ 1 lakh, hoping to use the proceeds to fund a birthday party for a friend and buy a motorcycle, police said.
His father approached the police the next day, following which a case of kidnapping was registered. The accused broke the victim’s mobile phone and threw it onto a moving bus, hoping that its changing location would mislead the police while they tracked the missing teenager’s phone and tower-location data. The victim left his home at around 7pm on September 24 but did not return, according to the officers.
During the initial investigation, one of the accused allegedly told the victim’s family and the police that he had seen the teenager leaving on a white Activa scooter with an unidentified youth from a road opposite Brahmand Circle. He also allegedly pretended to appear sad in order to avoid any suspicion, police said. Officers said the alleged plan extended beyond the killing.
