Rs 1.2-Crore Testicle Myth: How A Reel Led To A Teen's Murder In Bhopal

How much could human testicles be worth?For a group of young men and boys in Bhopal, police say, the answer apparently came not from a doctor or a medical textbook but from an Instagram reel. The figure they allegedly came to believe was staggering Rs 1.20 crore. That bizarre myth about human testicles being worth crores is now at the centre of a murder investigation in which a 17-year-old boy who sold pens and keychains for a living was allegedly lured with Rs 100, taken to an isolated spot and killed.Police say the conspiracy involved an Instagram reel, a 20-year-old BBA student allegedly masquerading as a doctor, three minors and the promise of instant riches. Investigators allege that Zoheb Khan, who would wear a white apron and project himself as a doctor despite actually being a second-year BBA student, convinced his associates that the testicles of a teenage boy could be sold for around Rs 1.2 crore.Police have arrested Zoheb Khan, 20, and Aamir Qureshi, 18, and detained three minors. According to DCP Zone-3 Ayush Gupta, four of the accused allegedly participated in carrying out the murder while Zoheb guided them and was part of the conspiracy. The knife allegedly used in the crime has also been recovered.At the heart of the case is an Instagram reel. Gupta said the investigation revealed that Zoheb had watched a reel on Instagram. Police allege that he later showed a video to the others and told them that the private parts of a boy aged around 15-16 could fetch Rs 1.2 crore. His alleged doctor persona appears to have given the claim a veneer of credibility. There was, however, no Rs 1.2-crore buyer waiting at the other end. Police say they have so far found no medical basis for the claim and no evidence establishing an organised organ-trafficking market behind the alleged promise. Investigators even consulted a doctor during the probe, but nothing emerged to substantiate the claim that had apparently driven the accused. Police are now examining the source of the reel and how an online myth allegedly became the motive for murder.The victim, Rehan, lived a life far removed from the fantasy of crores allegedly being discussed by his killers. His father had died, his mother worked as a cleaner at a public toilet, and the 17-year-old helped support his family by selling pens and keychains around Iqbal Maidan and Moti Masjid. Police say some of the accused already knew him and had befriended him. Investigators believe he was eventually chosen because the group had allegedly been told they needed a boy above 15 years of age.On August 6, the alleged conspiracy moved from a mobile-phone screen to the streets of Bhopal. Police say two minors approached Rehan at Iqbal Maidan and told him they had a dispute with some boys near Khatlapura and needed his help in a fight. They promised him Rs 100 if he accompanied them. Rehan agreed, unaware that investigators allege the fight was merely a pretext to take him away.Other members of the group joined them on the way. Police say Rehan was taken through Ginnauri and Kilol Park towards the secluded Dhobighat area near Chhota Talab. Throughout the journey, Zoheb allegedly remained in contact with the group on the phone, guiding them as the plan unfolded.Once they reached the isolated spot, Rehan was allegedly attacked from behind. Police say he was overpowered and stabbed repeatedly with a knife and a blade. After the teenager died, the accused allegedly contacted Zoheb over the phone and acted on instructions connected to the video they had earlier been shown. Rehan's testicles were then allegedly removed and placed in a polythene bag.But after the killing came a problem that apparently nobody had seriously considered: Who would actually pay Rs 1.2 crore for them? Police interrogation suggests that the accused now began searching for the buyer they apparently believed existed. The severed body part was allegedly kept for days as attempts were made to find someone to purchase it. No buyer emerged.The promise of crores had turned out to be a myth, but by then, Rehan was already dead. Police say that after failing to sell the body part, the accused eventually threw it into the water. Investigators are probing precisely where the Rs 1.2-crore figure originated and whether the reel simply contained grotesque misinformation or whether somebody else deliberately fed the accused the claim.The murder itself first surfaced without a victim's name. On August 10, a decomposed body was recovered from the Dhobighat area of Chhota Talab. There were sharp-edged weapon injuries on the abdomen and legs, and the post-mortem examination indicated homicide. The police registered a murder case against unidentified persons, but investigators faced an immediate hurdle: they did not know who had been killed.Police teams circulated photographs of the victim on social media, approached residents and conducted door-to-door inquiries in an attempt to establish his identity. When those efforts initially failed, the unidentified body was buried. Five days later, on August 15, a woman approached police while looking for her missing son. She identified the body as Rehan, including with the help of a distinctive tattoo on his hand.The identification changed the course of the investigation. Police reconstructed Rehan's final movements, examined the people he knew and questioned those who had last been seen with him. The trail eventually led investigators to the five accused and, according to police, exposed a motive more bizarre than they had initially imagined.