It was Navjot Singh’s 17th birthday. He celebrated with family in Punjab’s Patiala and left for a trip with his friends a day later. But the celebration soon turned into mourning as instead of Navjot, news of his death came home.
On March 25, a day after his birthday, Navjot left the house saying he was going to Haridwar with friends. But later, he called his parents to tell them he hadn’t gone to Haridwar, instead, he was returning home.
On the same night, the police got a call about a dead body spotted at a railway station. The body was found in two parts, split from the stomach. There were several cut marks on the chest. The body couldn’t be identified.
“We put up posters across the village to identify the body. Meanwhile, on March 30, Harjinder Singh, on the lookout for his son, approached us,” said a police official.
During the investigation, police found that Navjot was killed by his friend Amanjot over the iPhone 11 he owned. Navjot’s mobile was recovered from Amanjot, who was arrested and produced before the Juvenile Justice Board.
Another boy, who narrated the incident to the Singh family, alleged that Amanjot gave him Rs 1,000 to be an accomplice to the crime. The boy, whose identity cannot be revealed, was allegedly threatened to help Amanjot keep the body on the railway track.
