AGRA, Sept. 17 -- DNA sampling led to a breakthrough in a cold blooded murder that took place in the rural belt of Agra 18 months ago. A 45-year-old man was arrested for allegedly killing an 18-year-old wedding photographer, stuffing the body into a drum and then setting it afire. The accused also disposed of the deceased's vehicle near a river to make it look like a suicide, said Agra police on Tuesday.The accused took the extreme step after the teenager, Rakesh Singh, allegedly took obscene pictures of his minor daughter and blackmailed her, they said.The accused, Deviram, who runs a small 'halwai' (sweetmeat) shop on Agra-Gwalior road, was arrested on Monday. He told cops that Singh had made a video of his daughter in 2023 while she was bathing and used the video for blackmailing her.According to the police, the accused lured Singh to his shop, making him believe that his daughter wanted to meet him, strangled him and stuffed the body into a plastic drum with the help of his nephew last year. They ferried the body on a loader to a secluded spot, poured petrol and set it on fire. Deviram then took Singh's motorcycle to Khari Nadi and placed it in a start position with the keys on to make it look like a suicide, said officials. ACP Sukanya Sharma informed that Rakesh Singh, son of Lal Singh, was missing from Kaboolpur village of Agra since February 15. The half burnt body of the teenager was found in Saiyyan area of Agra on February 18, 2024, and Lal Singh was asked to identify it. However, he could not do so. An FIR was lodged after a technical analysis confirmed the identity. The case was filed under IPC sections 302 (murder), 364 (kidnapping) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) at Malpura police station.After the post-mortem examination, a man identified as Maniram Sharma from Dholpur claimed the body as that of his nephew's. The viscera preserved for DNA sampling turned out to be a game changer in the case after 18 months. The police are now probing why Sharma, known for his criminal background, claimed the body, said the ACP. Meanwhile, Lal Singh moved the high court and filed a habeas corpus writ to get his son traced. Being aware of some video made by his son, he lodged a complaint under Section 156(3) of Criminal Procedure Code against the accused Deviram. It was revealed that Lal Singh had settled for a compromise after getting 2 lakh from Deviram, said police."The police continued with the investigation. The DNA sample from the viscera of the half burnt body was matched with that of Rakesh Singh's mother, and both samples matched, changing the course of action. Deviram was arrested and he revealed the sequence of events," said ACP Sukanya Sharma."Deviram confessed to the police that he was planning to teach a lesson to Rakesh Singh from the same village for blackmailing his daughter after making an obscene video of the girl. Deviram asked Rakesh to come to his halwai shop on February 15 night, 2024, making him believe that his daughter wanted to meet him," revealed the ACP. "Deviram switched off the lights at his shop and stood inside. He caught Rakesh Singh off guard and strangulated him to death. The accused called up his relative Nritya Kishore, owner of a tempo, for some work. Both first took Rakesh's motorcycle to Khari Nadi on UP-Rajasthan border and placed it on the riverbank. They left the bike in start mode and threw the deceased's phone into the river to make it look like a suicide," she added. Subsequently, both returned to the shop, ferried the drum containing Rakesh's body to Saiyyan area and burnt it. The body was traced on February 18 but Lal Singh failed to identify it, the said ACP."The police are now looking for Nritya Kishore after having arrested Deviram. We are in touch with Dholpur police to trace Maniram Sharma who appeared on the scene claiming the body of Rakesh as one of his nephews. It appears there might be another crime that remains to be unfolded," added Sharma....