Agra, May 18 (IANS) Forty years after he allegedly abducted and killed an eight-year-old boy, a man has been arrested for the crime.
Antram a.k.a Anta Antram, 61, had allegedly kidnapped and killed Harendra Singh-- the younger brother of lawyer Raghvendra Singh--with the help of his friend in 1982.
The boy was murdered after the family failed to pay a ransom of Rs 5 lakh. The body was found seven days later, with the throat split open.
An FIR was registered against Antram and his accomplice, Chandrabhan, his neighbour. While Chanda was arrested and then sentenced to life imprisonment, Antram remained at large.
Later, a permanent arrest warrant was issued against him by a court and his property was attached.
According to a senior police officer, "After the crime, Antram relocated to Delhi, adopting the name Ram Nivas. He built a life for himself in the national capital and raised a family of three children with his wife."
However, according to local residents, his attempt to stake claim to his ancestral property proved to be his undoing and one of his three brothers alerted the police, who moved in and arrested him.
DCP Sonam Kumar, said, "On the basis of a tip-off, Antram was arrested and sent to jail following court orders."
SHO (Kheragarh) Rajeev Kumar said, "Antram had changed multiple locations after the crime. Later, he changed his name and secured a fake Aadhaar card. He also built a house in a locality under Delhi's Hauz Khas police station."
On receiving information about the incident, SP City Dinesh Kumar Singh, along with police force, reached the spot. The injured youths were sent to the hospital for treatment and the matter is being investigated.
The Chief Minister said the government is fully sensitive towards checking cross-border infiltration in Punjab. He said Punjab Police is constantly in touch with the Border Security Force (BSF) and other agencies for this purpose.
While briefing the officers, the DGP said the topmost priority of the government, as directed by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, is to further strengthen the fight against drugs to make Punjab a drug-free state, besides eliminating the gangster culture, maintaining law and order, and detection of crime.
Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur announced Rs 5 lakh to the next of the kin of the deceased, whereas Rs 15,000 as immediate relief for the injured. He said free treatment would be provided to the injured.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Monday carried out his first Cabinet expansion by inducting five legislators, including second-time MLA Aman Arora, into his council of ministers. The expansion came in less than four months of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) sweeping to victory in the Assembly elections by winning 92 seats of the 117 seats.
The police have so far managed to nab four of the accused, including one woman, who have been identified as Gurjant Singh (31), Navjot Singh (30), Satpal Singh (28) and Gurpreet Kaur (30).
