GHAZIABAD: A 22-year-old man who allegedly masterminded the abduction and murder of a Class IX student, Ayush Sharma, in April was arrested on Wednesday. Ayush (16), a student of St Francis School in Indirapuram , was allegedly abducted from near his house in Sector 2A of Vaishali on April 16.His body was recovered from a ditch in Greater Noida on April 20 where it had been dumped by his killers who had stoned him to death. Police said the accused, Vishal Soni, who was arrested on Wednesday, had planned Ayush’s murder after the boy had been taken to Greater Noida following his abduction.Police had announced a reward of Rs 25,000 on Vishal, who was absconding after the discovery of Ayush’s body. Police said Vishal worked as a collection agent in a finance firm and had, along with his family members, abandoned his rented accommodation in a ground-floor flat in Sector 11 of Pratap Vihar in Ghaziabad “Vishal was not known to Ayush nor his family members. He was a mutual friend of Virat and the student of St John’s School who had been arrested earlier. The motorcycle on which Ayush had been taken to Greater Noida belonged to Vishal,” said Ghaziabad SP (City) Akash Tomar. Police have recovered the Royal Enfield motorcycle which had been used in the crime. A mobile phone belonging to Ayush has also been recovered from him.Apart from the murder, Vishal is an accused in at least four criminal cases registered with Indirapuram police station pertaining to theft, Arms Act and Gangsters Act.

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