Delhi University: Kidnapped student found dead in a drain, accused held; family blames cops for lapse in investigation

The Delhi University student missing since 22nd March, later abducted, was found dead in a drain on Thursday. The body of the 21-year-old Aaysuh Nautiyal was found in a drain in Delhi's Dwarka area. The cops have arrested the 26-year-old man for allegedly abducting and killing the DU student.

According to The Hindu, The Delhi University student and the accused had met via a dating application. The family of the deceased alleges police for lapses in probe blaming the cops for not being able to crack the case.

"Despite providing all necessary details to the police regarding the ransom calls made by the kidnappers each time, they failed to trace them. Had they shown some urgency, our son would have been alive today. The police officials kept on saying that they are investigating the case. This is because we are not very well-off people which is why our son's life did not weigh much in the eyes of the investigators," said deceased student's father Dinesh Chander.

Ayush, a final year, B.Com student at Ram Lal Anand, was missing from March 22 later was found murdered on March 28 six days later. His body was traced in a drain in Dwarka Sector 13.

Ayush survived by two sisters and his parents, he was the youngest in the family. The family alleged that the accused had sent several photos of an injured and gagged Ayush Nautiyal via WhatsApp. The kidnappers had asked for a ransom of Rs 50 lakh, said Chander.

"We informed the police about the incident, but they didn't take it seriously and didn't follow up with the clues in time. Even though we gave them all the small details of the ransom calls and the location where they would call us for handing over the money, there was no breakthrough. It was our fault that we trusted the police and lost our son to their false claims," the father said.

The accused was identified as former fashion institute student Ishtiyaq Ali, who was arrested in Delhi's Uttam Nagar. Joint Commissioner of Police (New Delhi Range) Ajay Chaudhary said the accused and the victim had met for the first time 10 days ago. “They met thrice,” Chaudhary told The Hindu. “On March 21, they met in a restaurant in Dwarka Sector 13. The CCTV footage of the meeting was examined.”

Chaudhury said the accused murdered Nautiyal on the day of the abduction but sent the ransom message to divert attention from his crime.

Nautiyal’s family, however, accused the cops of not doing enough to rescue Ayush, the father said that the cops kept on giving them false assurances and did not tell them about any concrete step that they had taken to trace the kidnappers.

"They never gave us a concrete answer as to where the investigation heading. They always told us that it is underway but we couldn't see any efforts from them resulting in the death of our son," the father said.

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