Tiff over loud music: Teen auto driver kills wedding caterer, sets body on fire in UP; arrested | Meerut News

MEERUT: A 25-year-old wedding caterer returning from Mumbai was beaten to death and his body set on fire by a teenage auto driver in Meerut after an argument over loud music. The 16-year-old driver allegedly assaulted Rohit Kumar with bricks and set his body on fire using engine oil in an attempt to conceal his identity, police said.The body was discovered near a school in Sardhana early on Tuesday by a security guard.The accused was arrested late on Wednesday and sent to a juvenile correction facility.Rohit, a native of Muzaffarnagar who worked in Mumbai as a caterer, was in Meerut to visit his maternal aunt when he boarded the auto.Police said an argument broke out between the two after Rohit objected to the loud music being played inside the vehicle. The exchange took place in front of other passengers and escalated quickly.According to investigators, the driver continued to drive towards a isolated area before stopping the vehicle. Police said, he picked up bricks from the roadside and struck Rohit repeatedly on the head, killing him on the spot.He then dragged the body towards nearby bushes along the wall of a school compound, poured engine oil over it and set it ablaze before fleeing.A school security guard saw the flames called police, who arrived at the scene and began investigation. “Accused wanted to destroy the evidence and prevent identification, but fire had not consumed the body fully,” said Vipin Tada, senior superintendent of police, Meerut. “Remains were sufficient for identification, and body was handed over to family after postmortem exam,” he said.