Bahraich (UP) (PTI): Two minors allegedly killed a man by slitting his throat and then crushed his head with a stone to steal his iPhone to create "high-quality reels" for more likes, police said on Saturday.

Police have held both the accused and initiated investigations.

The victim, Shadab (19), who lived in Bengaluru, was visiting his ancestral village of Nagaur in Bahraich for his maternal uncle's wedding.

Additional Superintendent of Police, Ramanand Prasad Kushwaha, said that the incident occurred on the night of June 20.

"Shadab was reported missing on June 21, and his body was discovered later that day near a dilapidated tube well in a guava orchard outside the village. Shadab's throat had been slit with a knife, and his head was bludgeoned with a brick," said the officer.

Based on their investigation, police on Saturday held two minors aged 14 and 16.

"During questioning, the two teenagers confessed to the crime, saying that they needed a high-quality mobile phone to make better reels. They admitted to planning the murder four days earlier, specifically targeting Shadab's iPhone," said the officer.

"On the night of the incident, they lured Shadab to a secluded area outside the village on the pretext of making reels. There, they attacked him, slit his throat and then crushed his head with a brick," the officer added.

Police recovered Shadab's iPhone, the knife used in the murder, and the brick.

A case was registered against four individuals, including the two minor accused and their family members, under sections 103(1) (murder) and 238 (concealment of evidence) of the Bhartiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS).

While the minors and their family members initially fled their homes after the discovery of the body, both teenagers were held on Thursday.

One of the accused's relatives, who allegedly helped hide the weapon, was arrested on Friday and sent to jail. The search for the fourth adult accused is going on, police said.

Station House Officer (SHO) of Dehat, Daddan Singh, confirmed that both juveniles have been sent to the Divisional Juvenile Reform Home in Gonda.

 

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Bengaluru: The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast that the southwest monsoon will cause heavy rainfall likely this weekend and will drench Karnataka over the next 10 days.

The monsoon has begun retreating from northwestern India. Conditions remain active over the south, with an upper air trough extending up to 1.5 km over North Interior Karnataka and northern Tamil Nadu, combined with weakening monsoon winds across the peninsula, is driving the current spell. N. Puviarasan, head of the IMD’s meteorological centre in Bengaluru, said in a conversation with Deccan Herald, “As a result, the whole of Karnataka will see rain over the next week to 10 days."

With a cyclone in the Pacific Ocean along with a low-pressure system over the north Bay of Bengal, the monsoon is expected to intensify during the next four days. IMD has predicted heavy rains across South Interior Karnataka, including Bengaluru, throughout the weekend.


Bengaluru, recorded widespread moderate to heavy rainfall on Thursday. Between 8.30 am and 8.30 pm, Bengaluru city logged 45.9 mm of rain accompanied by thunderstorms. HAL airport registered 6 mm and the Bengaluru Urban automatic station recorded 47.5 mm. Doddathoguru, near Electronics City, reported 55 mm.

According to IMD forecast heavy rainfall will occur at isolated places in Bengaluru Urban, Bengaluru Rural, Yadgir, Koppal, Raichur, Ramanagara and Mandya districts in the next few days.

The southwest monsoon is now expected to extend until mid-October and with little or no break in between, the northeast monsoon is likely to follow immediately. These are expected to last until December. “There may be no break in between,” Puviarasan said.