June 18, 2026: In a heartbreaking incident that has sent shockwaves across western Uttar Pradesh, a six-year-old boy who had come to Meerut to spend his summer holidays was kidnapped and thrown alive into a canal. The local police have arrested the main accused, identified as Arpit Parashar, a 27-year-old private bank employee. According to senior police officials, Parashar was in a long-term relationship with the child’s mother and committed the gruesome crime following prolonged personal disputes and a desire to marry her.
The incident took place in the Bahsuma area of Meerut. After a grueling 25-hour joint search operation involving local police teams and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), the minor’s lifeless body was finally pulled from the canal waters on Wednesday afternoon.
A Quiet Holiday Turns into a Nightmare
The victim, a cheerful six-year-old boy, normally resided in Patiala, Punjab, where he lived with his paternal aunt and attended school. Since his schools had closed for the summer break, his mother brought him to her family’s home in Bahsuma, Meerut, to spend a few weeks with his maternal relatives. The child had been staying in the village for about a week, thoroughly enjoying his time playing outdoors.
On Tuesday morning, around 11:00 AM, the boy returned home after riding his bicycle around the neighborhood. Family members recall that he kept his bicycle safely inside the house and, within minutes, walked back out to play with his friends. Little did his family know that a predator was lurking right outside their doorstep.
Investigators revealed that shortly after the boy stepped out for the second time, a white Maruti Suzuki WagonR car entered the narrow lanes of the locality. The driver, later identified as Arpit Parashar, allegedly spotted the boy, lured him into the vehicle under false pretenses, and sped away from the village before anyone could notice.
The Frantic Search and CCTV Breakthrough
By late afternoon, the child had still not returned home for lunch, sparking panic within the household. His grandmother, Baljinder Kaur, began searching the immediate neighborhood and asking local shopkeepers if they had seen the young boy. As hours rolled by with no trace of the child, the frantic family expanded their search, reaching out to distant relatives and neighbors.
When every lead turned up empty, the family approached the Bahsuma police station at around 6:00 PM on Tuesday evening to lodge an official missing person complaint.
Recognizing the gravity of the situation involving a young child, the Meerut police immediately swung into action. Special teams were formed under the supervision of senior officers to scan the locality. The turning point in the investigation came when detectives began reviewing CCTV footage from security cameras installed at key entry and exit points of the village and nearby highways.
The footage clearly captured a suspicious white WagonR entering the village around 11:00 AM—coinciding exactly with the timeline of the boy’s disappearance. Tracking the registration details and movement patterns of the car quickly led the police directly to Arpit Parashar.
A Shocking Confession and Twisted Motive
In the early hours of Wednesday morning, police teams conducted a raid and arrested Parashar. During intense interrogation, the 27-year-old bank employee cracked and confessed to the heinous crime, detailing a twisted tale of a relationship gone wrong.
According to Superintendent of Police (SP) Abhijeet Kumar, Parashar admitted that he had been in a romantic relationship with the child’s mother for the past five to six years. Over the last few months, severe personal disputes had broken out between the two. Local sources and police intelligence indicate that Parashar was deeply obsessed with the woman and desperately wanted to marry her. However, the presence of the child and ongoing domestic complexities became a major point of contention.
Driven by rage, resentment, and a chilling determination to remove the child from the equation, Parashar planned the kidnapping. After luring the boy into his car on Tuesday morning, he drove directly toward a remote stretch of the local canal. Without a shred of mercy, he threw the conscious, helpless six-year-old directly into the fast-flowing water before fleeing the scene.
NDRF Recovers the Body After 25 Hours
Following the accused’s chilling confession, a massive recovery operation was launched. Because the canal currents were strong, local divers struggled initially to locate the child. The Meerut administration immediately requested assistance from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF).
For hours, NDRF personnel and police teams combed downstream sections of the canal. The agonizing wait for the family ended in absolute heartbreak on Wednesday afternoon when the rescue teams fished out the minor’s body, roughly 25 hours after he was initially abducted. The remains have been sent for a post-mortem examination to establish the exact cause of death, though initial assessments point heavily to drowning.
Family Left Shattered
The tragedy has entirely devastated the family. The boy’s father, Gursevak Singh, is currently employed at a private firm in Saudi Arabia to provide a better future for his family. He has been informed of the catastrophic loss and is reportedly rushing back to India.
Meanwhile, the police are expanding the scope of their investigation. While Arpit Parashar remains behind bars under strict sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) including kidnapping and murder, electronic evidence is being analyzed thoroughly.
Detectives are auditing Parashar’s mobile phone records, call logs, and WhatsApp chats to determine if any other individuals were aware of his plans or if there was any element of collusion. Investigators are also recorded as saying that all statements made by the accused regarding the timeline of his relationship with the mother are undergoing strict verification. Security has been tightened in the village to maintain law and order as grief and anger grip the local community.