Actor Sapna Singh's son found dead in Bareilly, friends arrested

Actor Sapna Singh staged a protest in Bareilly after her 14-year-old son was found dead under suspicious circumstances, with the police arresting his two friends over the case, officials said on Wednesday.

Her son Sagar Gangwar's two adult friends -- identified as Anuj and Sunny -- were arrested and sent to jail on Wednesday on charges of murder, the officials said.

"The postmortem report could not confirm the exact cause of death but indications of poisoning or drug overdose have been found. Viscera samples have been preserved for further examination," circle officer (Fatehpur) Ashutosh Shivam said.

Bhuta police station inspector Sunil Kumar added, "Anuj and Sunny confessed during questioning that they had consumed drugs and alcohol with Sagar. The overdose caused Sagar to collapse. Panicking, they dragged his body to a field and left him there."

Sagar, a Class 8 student, was staying with his maternal uncle Om Prakash in Anand Vihar Colony, Bareilly, according to the police.

His body was discovered Sunday morning near Adalakhia village in the Izzatnagar police station area.

Initially, a postmortem was conducted, treating it as an unidentified case. However, the Baradari police had registered a missing persons complaint filed by Om Prakash on December 7, an official said.

Following the identification of the body, CCTV footage near the incident site showed Anuj and Sunny dragging Sagar. This led to their detention, the official added.

The incident sparked protest in Sagar's village, with residents blocking the road and demanding a second postmortem.

Sapna Singh, known for her roles in TV programmes Crime Patrol and Mati Ki Banno, returned from Mumbai on Tuesday to find her son dead.

She broke down upon seeing his body and demanded justice. The police added a murder case following the protests and filed a fresh FIR at the Bhuta police station.