Noida: A 13-year-old boy was allegedly murdered by his father to frame relatives in an ongoing property dispute in Greater Noida. The suspect, according to police, concocted a story that his son went missing, but a CCTV footage trail helped police unearth the crime.The boy, Sudhanshu alias Samar, a resident of Sirsa village, was reported missing from his home at around 9.20 pm on May 6. The complaint was filed at Kasna police station by his uncle, Mohit Bhati, who said the child did not return home. Police registered a case under Section 137(2) of the BNS and formed a special investigation team.During the inquiry, investigators reviewed CCTV footage and questioned children in the area. The footage showed Sudhanshu leaving in a car with his father, Pradeep, on the night he disappeared. Police brought Pradeep in for questioning on Thursday.“Initially, the father told us that he left the child with a friend in Gulistanpur village and claimed he would help cops find him. He took a team along, but he continuously misled investigators and kept changing his statements, which raised suspicion regarding his involvement in the case,” a senior officer said.Fearing arrest by the police, Pradeep later that day allegedly attempted to take his own life, trying to slit his throat with a blade before being overpowered by bystanders. The incident was captured on video. Police initially attributed his distress to anxiety over his missing son and continued the search. However, by evening, cops recovered the boy’s body from a pond near an Abadi land colony in Sirsa village, and family members, present at the scene, pointed to Pradeep’s involvement.“During detailed questioning, it was found that the child’s father allegedly strangled his son,” the officer said. “He further revealed that there was a property dispute within the family over the front portion of a plot. He believed that by killing his son, he could falsely implicate his relatives in the case.”Pradeep, a farmer, was married for 18 years and had two children — Sudhanshu and a 16-year-old daughter. Investigators believe the crime was premeditated, designed both to settle personal scores and to create legal jeopardy for his relatives.The body was sent for post-mortem examination, and forensic teams collected evidence from the pond site. While Pradeep was taken into custody, police are investigating whether anyone else was involved.
