Teen Strangled To Death By Friend For Refusing To Share Phone Password

A high school student in India was allegedly strangled to death by his 20-year-old friend after he refused to share his phone’s password, the police told the media on Wednesday.

The incident took place in Delhi. The police arrested the accused identified as Mayank Singh on Monday for allegedly murdering his friend who was reported missing since April 21, local daily Hindustan Times reported.

The police got a report of a badly decomposed body lying in an isolated park near the unidentified victim’s home on Sunday. The investigators soon identified the body belonged to the missing victim and reviewed the surveillance camera near the area. They also recovered marijuana and a huge teddy bear near the victim’s body, a senior police officer said, Hindustan Times reported.

The victim’s father had lodged a police complaint after his son reportedly did not return home on April 21. The police found out from the surveillance video that on April 21, the victim and the suspect had entered the park where his body was later found. The police also found out Singh was missing from his house since April 23.

The investigators determined Singh had befriended the victim on social media before meeting him in person on the day he was murdered. “Mayank Singh met with the victim six months ago on social media and decided to meet on April 21 when the incident took place,” Guriqbal Sidhu, Deputy commissioner of police said, reported Indian Express.

Singh who had fled the state after the incident was taken into custody Monday. He was arrested from a village in the neighboring state of Uttar Pradesh where he was hiding in his friend’s house.

He had reportedly admitted to the police he had met the victim at the park on April 21. Singh told the police he had asked the victim to share his phone’s password, but he had refused to do it. This led to an argument between them, and Singh then allegedly hit the victim with a stone before strangling him with a cloth.

In a similar incident this month, an 18-year-old boy in Virginia was charged with murder for fatally shooting two teenagers after a social media fight. The police said the shooting happened after four teenagers went to a house to talk about an argument that started on social media. The accused was charged with two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of using firearm.