Ghaziabad, May 30 (IANS) A 17-year-old boy was stabbed to death by his friend in Ghaziabad's Khoda Colony following an argument, police said.

The victim, identified as Surya Pratap, succumbed to his injuries at a hospital. His grieving mother and sister, devastated by the loss, have demanded strict action against the accused, including an encounter of the main suspect.

The incident took place on Thursday, while Surya died during treatment on Friday.

Surya was a Class XI student at a private school in Khoda colony. Following a complaint lodged by his elder brother, Yash, at Khoda police station, an FIR was registered in the case.

The Ghaziabad Police have arrested three of the four accused named in the FIR. The arrested accused have been identified as Farhan, Asif, and Nawab. Farhan is the father of the main accused, Asad. Police teams are conducting raids to trace and arrest Asad, who remains absconding.

Expressing her grief, Surya's mother, Saroj, told IANS, "I want him to be killed. The way he killed my son, I want the same punishment for him. I have not seen my son's face since May 28. I have three children — one daughter and two sons. However, my elder son is physically challenged. I had hoped that my younger son would become my strength, but now he has been taken away from us."

Surya's sister told IANS, "We got the information around 3.30 a.m. We received a call saying that someone had stabbed my younger brother and that we should come to the hospital. I was at my marital home and could not even see my brother's face. We have not received his body yet."

She further alleged that Asad was responsible for the attack. "Asad was the one who stabbed my brother. My brother and Asad had a minor argument about eight months ago, but we never imagined that he would do something like this."

According to her, Asad had called Surya to meet him on Eid. "We thought it was a friendly meeting and never suspected any conspiracy. However, Asad was not alone; he was accompanied by seven or eight people," she claimed.

"My brother was only 17 years old. Our father is no longer with us, and now we have lost my brother too. We have no one left," she said.

Demanding justice, she added, "The way my brother was killed, the accused should face the same fate. We want strict action against him. Asad is still on the run, and we want him arrested as soon as possible."

[VP]