A man has confessed to kidnapping and murdering his 12-year-old neighbour on January 6. He was aided by two accomplices.

The child was kidnapped from outside his house in Saeedabad on January 6 morning. His father works in the Pakistan Railways.

His body was found a week later in a ditch in Gulistan-e-Jauhar’s Block 6. It has been doused in petrol and set on fire.

Three suspects who were taken into custody, including a neighbour, have confessed to the crime, according to the police.

Rizwan, Abdul Sattar and Shamsher said they kidnapped the boy and immediately killed him.

He was playing in front of our front door, Shamsher said. “We pulled him inside and strangled him because he knew us.”

The body was packed into a bag and put in a car that they used to dump it.

Anti-Violent Crimes Cell DSP Muhammad Nadir said the boy’s family was negotiating over a plot worth Rs6.5 million to Rs7 million. These men found out about it and kidnapped the boy on January 6, he said.