Suri, Aug. 18: A teenager pushed a 10-year-old girl off a bridge in Birbhum, climbed 30 feet down and strangled her because she refused to lend him an MP4 player, police said today.

Nikhil (name changed), 14, had been eyeing the device that belonged to his friend Sagar Dolui, who went to the same school with him. “He (Nikhil) wanted to listen to songs but Shiuli, Sagar’s sister, refused to part with it,” said Susmita Chakraborty, a neighbour of the Doluis.

Around 4pm yesterday, Nikhil asked Shiuli to bring the MP4 player with her and accompany him to the Tilpara barrage, near Suri town, about 230km from Calcutta.

The boy told her he would take pictures using the camera in the device, the police said. He took Shiuli on a bicycle, and as they approached the barrage, asked for the MP4 player.

When she refused, he pushed her off the bridge, according to the police. She fell 30ft below, her head hitting the rocks on the side of the barrage.

Swapan Banerjee, the inspector-in-charge of Suri police station, said: “The boy then went down to check if she was alive. When he found her unconscious but breathing, he strangled her and dragged the body behind a bush.”

It was “a murder with intention”, the police officer said. “He murdered her in anger because she refused to give him the gadget. We have arrested him.” The MP4 player has not been found yet.

In Calcutta, psychiatrist Ranadip Ghosh Roy said the gadget might not be the only reason behind the murder. “The boy needs counselling.”

About a fortnight ago, Shiuli’s father Swapan had bought the music player — it played songs and videos and also had a camera — for Rs 2,000. Shiuli, who had a speech problem, grew fond of the device and would often listen to music on it.

Relatives said Swapan, who paints buildings, bought the MP4 player, though too costly for his means, so his children would have some entertainment at home. “There is no TV or music system in their house. So, he thought this would provide some entertainment to the children,” said Rakhi Dolui, Swapan’s niece.

Yesterday, when Shiuli did not return home after 5pm, Swapan filed a missing complaint at Suri police station.

“We also asked Nikhil about her. He told us first that he had dropped her near her home. When we questioned him more, he told us he had sold her to strangers,” said 85-year-old Rashmoni Dolui, Shiuli’s great grandmother. “He gave us another story too — that he had dropped her at the market. But when we persisted, he told us he had killed her.”

The boy’s parents — his father is a Group D employee in a hospital — left home after the police arrested their son.

edit:found a more detailed article
[Edited 8/20/08 3:08am]

where is the article this is from

7e7e7 said:

http://www.telegraphindia...712247.jsp

well then, i blame the entertainment industry for this

I just love our society and mankind in general! We truely are the crown of creation.

Well, at least he only killed a girl. I mean...they're not worth much.