Did Orkut friends kidnap and kill Adnan?

A "friend" that Mumbai teenager Adnan Patrawala met on Orkut could have been involved in his kidnapping and murder, reports quoted the Mumbai police as saying.

Adnan had been regularly communicating with a person named 'Angel' on Orkut, who had invited the teenager to meet her.

However, the police believe that the kidnappers put up this fake profile to lure Adnan into their trap. Adnan and Angel had planned to meet each other and the police suspect that on the day he was kidnapped, Adnan may have left his friends to meet Angel. The conversations between Adnan and Angel indicate that the two may have even exchanged phone numbers.

While Adnan recieved condolonce messages from across the country, Angel's scrapbook overflowed with hate messages. "God will kill you as you have killed him," said one message.

"Enjoy your stay in jail," stated another.

This is how Adnan Patrawala had described himself on his Orkut profile: "Words can't describe me."

Reams of newsprint have been devoted in describing this 16-year-old boy since August 19, the day he was kidnapped from Oshiwara, Mumbai.

On Monday night, Adnan's body was found in neighbouring Navi Mumbai. The police said his abductors had panicked when the kidnapping received wide media coverage, and strangled the boy his friends fondly described as "loyal, but naughty".

As news of his death flashed across television channels, hundreds of condolence messages poured into his Orkut scrapbook from his friends, stunned by the tragic turn of events. 

Beyond shock and grief, anger was the overriding emotion in these messages.

While some prayed "may your soul rest in peace", most friends wanted the harshest punishment for his murderers.

The messages ranged from "Your murderers will be found and hanged for what they did" to "I hope the culprits are all above 18 years of age, so that they get the death sentence," and finally "they will all surely go to hell."

The fact that the kidnappers may have used the social networking site has not missed the lakhs of Orkut subscribers in India.

"All members of Orkut, please pray for Adnan's soul. And please use Orkut carefully," advises Naresh.

While another person Abhishek is blunter -- "Your kidnapping could have been avoided if you were not on this cursed site. So beware all other Orkutians, about meeting strangers," he says.

Many still continued to hope against hope. "The news must be wrong," said one, while another said, "Yeh khabar to galat hogi."

But some believed in something else. "I know you will never ever read these scraps. But somehow, in some way, our messages and prayers will reach you," wished a friend.