2 minors kill teen for iPhone to create ‘high-quality’ reels

NT Correspondent
Bahraich/Bengaluru

In a chilling incident in the Bahraich district of Uttar Pradesh, two minor boys allegedly murdered a teenager to steal his iPhone to create ‘high- quality’ reels for social media and get more likes.The victim has been identified as Shadab (19), a resident of Bengaluru. The incident took place when he had been to his ancestral village of Nagaur in Bahraich for his uncle's wedding.

Shadab went missing on June 20, and a missing person complaint was filed on June 21. Later that day, Shadab's body was found in a well at a guava orchard with his throat slit and head crushed with a stone.

Following an investigation, two boys, aged 14 and 16, were taken into custody. During interrogation, both the minors reportedly confessed to committing the crime to steal Shadab’s mobile phone to make high-quality social media reels, as they knew that the deceased owned an iPhone.

On the day of the incident, the boys lured Shadab to the outskirts of the village under the pretext of making reels, and there they attacked him, slitting his throat with a knife and then crushing his head with a stone. The police have recovered the knife and brick used in the crime, and the iPhone. Following the discovery of the body, the two accused and their families fled the village.

A relative reportedly helped them conceal the knife used in the crime. The police confirmed that all involved, including the relative, have been arrested and sent to jail. The minors involved in the crime have been sent to a juvenile home, and the search is on for another individual.