J-K cops solve murder of 18-year-old in Kathua, accused arrested

On May 6, Kathua police station received information that two brothers -- Nakul Singh 18 and Nikhil Singh 16, sons of late Balbir Singh and residents of Ward number 10 -- were found critically injured at their residence after being allegedly attacked with an intention to kill, Senior Superintendent of Police Mohita Sharma told reporters in Kathua.

Police have solved the murder case of an 18-year-old youth in Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua district within 24 hours and arrested the accused, officials said on Friday. They said the weapon of offence, a cricket bat, was also seized from the arrested accused. ''On May 6, Kathua police station received information that two brothers -- Nakul Singh (18) and Nikhil Singh (16), sons of late Balbir Singh and residents of Ward number 10 -- were found critically injured at their residence after being allegedly attacked with an intention to kill,'' Senior Superintendent of Police Mohita Sharma told reporters in Kathua. Police registered an FIR and initiated an investigation. Both the injured were shifted to the Government Medical College in Kathua, where doctors declared Nakul Singh brought dead, while Nikhil Singh, who was critically injured, was referred to AIIMS Vijaypur for advanced treatment, SSP Sharma said. Senior police officers, including the Kathua station house officer and deputy superintendent of police (headquarters), rushed to the spot and secured the crime scene. Forensic teams were called, and legal formalities, including e-Sakshya proceedings, were conducted. During the inspection of the crime scene, police found that Nakul's iPhone was missing. ''Investigators rounded up several suspects and conducted technical analysis, including examination of call detail records, which led them to suspect Parth Verma alias Sumit,'' Sharma said. During sustained interrogation, Verma allegedly confessed to the crime. On his disclosure, police also recovered the missing iPhone in the presence of a magistrate, she added. Sharma said the accused had visited Nakul's house around 10.40 am on May 6, and later made a phone call to another person using Nakul's mobile phone. Later, an argument and physical scuffle broke out between Nakul and the accused over a love affair, following which the accused allegedly attacked Nakul with a cricket bat, causing fatal head injuries. When Nakul's brother Nikhil came home, he was also allegedly attacked multiple times with the same bat as the accused tried to eliminate any witness to the crime. He later took Nakul's iPhone and fled the scene. The victims' mother discovered her sons lying in a pool of blood when she returned home around 5 pm, SSP Sharma said.