Accused in teen murder tries to kill self in lock-up

JHARSUGUDA: The prime accused in the kidnapping and murder of 15-year-old Samarth Agarwal, son of a businessman, in Jharsuguda reportedly attempted to kill himself in judicial custody on Tuesday.
Police said Amit Sharma slit his wrists at the reserve police barrack on the last day of his remand.
However, policemen present there overpowered him and shifted him to the district headquarters hospital. He was provided treatment and produced before the court, which sent him back to judicial custody.
Jharsuguda superintendent of police Smit Parmar on Tuesday said the sole motive behind kidnapping and murdering Samarth was to extort money from the deceased's parents. Sharma was close to the deceased's family and had planned to commit the crime a fortnight ago, police said. "We are verifying the financial status of Amit," the SP said.
"We had brought both accused on three-day remand on April 1. During our investigation, the role of one more person, Ganesh Naik (38), a resident of Burla, has come to light. Ganesh had arranged a place for the accused to keep the boy at night. Subsequently, Naik had also brought petrol on his two-wheeler," he said.
"Our aim is to conduct a watertight investigation. We are in touch with legal experts and public prosecutors and are planning to move a fast-track court once the charge-sheet is filed."