Friend kills 15-year-old boy to fund lavish trip to Jaisalmer

Rajkot: A 15-year-old boy was allegedly murdered by his friend, who sold his gold chain worth Rs 96,000 to fund a lavish family trip to Rajasthan's Jaisalmer, in Khambhaliya town of Devbhumi Dwarka district.
Police launched an investigation using technical surveillance and human intelligence after the victim, Ketan Vaghela's body, was retrieved from a sewage tank on March 19. The 21-year-old accused, Harsh Nadhera, disposed of the body after killing the boy on March 16 to destroy evidence and even joined the police search to avoid suspicion.
Nadhera, a sanitation worker with the Khambhaliya municipality, was nabbed from Jaisalmer on Friday. He went there with his to-be wife and another relative.
"During interrogation, Nadhera confessed to murdering the boy for his gold chain worth Rs 96,000. He revealed that he was struggling financially but wanted to take his sister-in-law, wife, and relatives on a luxurious trip. In desperation, he set his sights on the boy's gold chain and lured him to his house on March 16," said BM Devmurari, Police Sub-Inspector, Khambhaliya police station.
According to police, Ketan, who studied up to Class 8, left his home on March 16 on a motorcycle, informing his family that he was going to meet his friend. When he did not return till late in the night, his father, a sanitation worker in the municipality, tried calling him. The boy initially answered, informing them that he would be home soon, but later, his phone was switched off.
When the family visited Nadhera's house around 3 am, he claimed that Ketan was at his place till 12:30 am, after which two other friends arrived on a bike, and he left with them to get snacks. However, the boy's slippers were spotted at Harsh's house, and his motorcycle was discovered nearby, raising suspicions. They alerted the police, who found the body with severe injury marks in a sewage tank near the accused's house on March 19.
On the night of the crime, under the influence of intoxicants, Nadhera slit Ketan's throat with a knife, stole his chain, and dumped his body into a sewage tank near his house. He then sold the gold chain and used the money to fund his trip to Jaisalmer.
Devmurari said police analysed CCTV footage from the vicinity of the crime scene. The footage revealed that Ketan was last seen with Nadhera. Further investigation found that Nadhera fled to Banaskantha and later to Rajasthan on March 17. Acting on this intelligence, police tracked him down to Jaisalmer.
To avoid suspicion, Nadhera even joined the family in searching for him and remained involved in the investigation. However, he suddenly disappeared the next day, citing travel plans, raising further suspicion.
Rajkot: A 15-year-old boy was allegedly murdered by his friend, who sold his gold chain worth Rs 96,000 to fund a lavish family trip to Rajasthan's Jaisalmer, in Khambhaliya town of Devbhumi Dwarka district.
Police launched an investigation using technical surveillance and human intelligence after the victim, Ketan Vaghela's body, was retrieved from a sewage tank on March 19. The 21-year-old accused, Harsh Nadhera, disposed of the body after killing the boy on March 16 to destroy evidence and even joined the police search to avoid suspicion.
Nadhera, a sanitation worker with the Khambhaliya municipality, was nabbed from Jaisalmer on Friday. He went there with his to-be wife and another relative.
"During interrogation, Nadhera confessed to murdering the boy for his gold chain worth Rs 96,000. He revealed that he was struggling financially but wanted to take his sister-in-law, wife, and relatives on a luxurious trip. In desperation, he set his sights on the boy's gold chain and lured him to his house on March 16," said BM Devmurari, Police Sub-Inspector, Khambhaliya police station.
According to police, Ketan, who studied up to Class 8, left his home on March 16 on a motorcycle, informing his family that he was going to meet his friend. When he did not return till late in the night, his father, a sanitation worker in the municipality, tried calling him. The boy initially answered, informing them that he would be home soon, but later, his phone was switched off.
When the family visited Nadhera's house around 3 am, he claimed that Ketan was at his place till 12:30 am, after which two other friends arrived on a bike, and he left with them to get snacks. However, the boy's slippers were spotted at Harsh's house, and his motorcycle was discovered nearby, raising suspicions. They alerted the police, who found the body with severe injury marks in a sewage tank near the accused's house on March 19.
On the night of the crime, under the influence of intoxicants, Nadhera slit Ketan's throat with a knife, stole his chain, and dumped his body into a sewage tank near his house. He then sold the gold chain and used the money to fund his trip to Jaisalmer.
Devmurari said police analysed CCTV footage from the vicinity of the crime scene. The footage revealed that Ketan was last seen with Nadhera. Further investigation found that Nadhera fled to Banaskantha and later to Rajasthan on March 17. Acting on this intelligence, police tracked him down to Jaisalmer.
To avoid suspicion, Nadhera even joined the family in searching for him and remained involved in the investigation. However, he suddenly disappeared the next day, citing travel plans, raising further suspicion.