Gonda (Uttar Pradesh), April 23 : The Gonda police on Monday arrested Mukesh, 18, for the murder of Manish Yadav, 15, whose body was found on Sunday evening with multiple stab wounds, the police said.

The police added that Mukesh, a class 12 student, claimed that Manish used to harass his sister and despite several warnings, had refused to mend his ways.

Police are investigating whether the murder was committed by Mukesh alone or if his associates had assisted him in the crime.

Gonda Superintendent of Police, Vineet Jaiswal, said that the police were informed about Manish's murder by his eldest brother, Surajendra.

"Manish Yadav was a seventh-grade student at Gurukul Vidyalaya located in the Gopalbagh area. The village was abuzz with festivities as a tilak ceremony was underway at the house of one Ram Jiwan. Manish had been assisting in serving dinner to the attendees before returning home late at night. Around 10:30 p.m. on Sunday, he mentioned to his mother about stepping out briefly. However, he never returned thereafter," Jaiswal added.

Initially, his family presumed he might have been engrossed in village activities.

However, on Monday morning, his cousin Ram Babu, who had set out for the village early, discovered his body in the wheat fields, leading to commotion in the village.

The SP said that based on the family's complaint, an FIR was registered, and the victim's relatives also raised suspicion on Mukesh's family, prompting an interrogation team to be dispatched.

"Mukesh was rounded up, and surveillance revealed his location to be with Manish. Initially, Mukesh pleaded innocence but could not justify his presence with Manish and later confessed to his crime," the police officer added.

The accused revealed that upon finding Manish alone in the field, he decided to teach him a lesson, attacked him with a sharp-edged weapon, and then dumped his body in the fields.

/IANS