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New Delhi: In a nerve-wracking incident, the body of a minor boy, who had gone missing on January 07, 2018, was on Monday found stuffed in a suitcase from an apartment in north-west Delhi's Swaroop Nagar, following which the tenant was arrested for allegedly killing him. A Delhi Police officer said Awadhesh Shakya (27), a civil services aspirant, was arrested after the recovery of the body of the seven-year-old boy stuffed in a suitcase lying in his room. Police said Shakya is familiar with the victim's family and is a distant relative. He stayed in a neighbouring house near the victim.

The Class I student, a resident of Nathupura’s D-Block, went missing at around 5.30 pm on January 07, 2018. In a bid to keep the needle of suspicion away from him, Shakya actively stayed with the kid's father while searching for the seven-year-old. "He helped me register a missing person case with the police the same day. He said that he knew CBI officers and would get the investigations transferred to the agency. He also promised to get the crime branch and the special cell to trace the boy,” said Karan Saini, the boy’s father.

Shakya, the resident of Uttar Pradesh’s Mainpuri, has reportedly told police that the objective behind kidnapping the boy was to extort ransom and seek revenge from the child’s father, with whom he had a spat a few months ago. However, when the Delhi Police began searching for the culprit after they got the report that the boy has been kidnapped, Shakya got scared and killed the kid. Thereafter, Shakya wrapped the body in a plastic bag and stuffed it in a green and black suitcase, and dumped the suitcase in his bed box. In a bid to befool neighbours, who often complained of foul smell emanating from his flat, the 27-year-old would blame it on rats and throw out one of the carcasses so that they believe his story.

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During interrogation, Shakya told the Delhi Police that the boy's father was opposed to his fondness towards him for which he killed the minor. Shakya wanted to dispose off the body but was not getting a chance due to an intensified police patrol in the area.

"Awadhesh told police the kid's (name concealed since he is a minor) parents used to abuse him in his absence and did not like his visits to their house," Deputy Commissioner of Police Aslam Khan told news agency IANS.

"He killed the kid after calling him to his room on the pretext of gifting him a cycle. He then asked the kid what does his father (Karan Singh) think about him. When the seven-year-old replied that Karan asked him not to visit his house, Awadhesh smothered him to death, wrapped the body and placed it in a cupboard. He, however, pretended to be a well-wisher before the kid's family," Khan added. "He did not try to dump the body as he knew CCTVs are installed in the streets. Instead, he killed some rats and placed them in his room. When asked about the stink, he showed one of the rats," Khan further said.

In a bid to suppress the stink, Shakya bought some perfume, room fresheners and incense sticks. He slept 37 days on the same bed under which he placed the cupboard with the body, police said. "He was planning to dispose off the body at an isolated place so that he could later make a ransom call of Rs 15 lakh," the police officer said, adding: "We have recovered the body and sent it for post-mortem."

Shakya also lied to the kid's family and said he works with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). He told police he was preparing for a competitive examination and also appeared for a UPSC examination thrice. Shakya also made false promises to the kid's grandfather that he would get his son employed with the CBI. Police said the kid went missing on January 07 following which Shakya, along with the grandfather of the victim, had registered a missing complaint at the Swaroop Nagar police station. Shakya did that in order to avoid any suspicion."During the investigation, police teams examined all CCTV footage, took help of local surveillance but did not get any solid lead to track the minor boy," DCP Khan said.

"Since no ransom call was made, we investigated the case from all possible angles instead of kidnapping. During the investigation, Awadhesh presented himself as a very confident person. Police teams recorded his, other family members' and others' statements," Khan said.

The victim's parents, who run a grocery shop, suspected Shakya after he stopped visiting their house for the last three days. He was a frequent visitor earlier.

“There were murmurs in the house about his involvement but some members believed him so much so that they didn’t say anything to him. He got to know about it later and started throwing tantrums. A week ago, he stopped coming to our house and that’s when we approached the police,” said the victim's aunt Radha Saini.

During their investigation, the Delhi Police was told by Shakya's neighbours about the foul smell and dead rats story. This did not go down well with the cops, who questioned the accused about it. When they searched his room, the cops found dead rats, 10 unused bottles of perfumes, and the suitcase stuffed under his bed. When they opened the suitcase around which the smell was almost unbearable, they recovered the child’s body.

DCP Khan said: "The family informed police and during cross-checking, Awadhesh changed his statements continuously. At last, he broke down and confessed to his crime."

The Delhi Police have prima facie ruled out a sexual assault.