Dankaur (Uttar Pradesh), May 26 (IANS): A juvenile has been held in connection with the murder of a septuagenarian farmer, whose son is a senior officer in the Defence Ministry, police said on Tuesday.

Greater Noida DCP Rajesh Kumar Singh said that Rajender Sharma, 75, was killed on Thursday night while he was asleep at a tube well in Issepur village.

The officer said the accused was a resident of Sikandrabad and used to visit the area for hunting partridges. The accused allegedly stabbed the septuagenarian with a knife and hit him with a brick to rob him of Rs 6,300.

Police said the accused came to know about the cash when Rajender Sharma took out the money from his pocket to give to the juvenile to buy some provisions from a village shop. He later returned to kill the old man while he was asleep, police said.

A murder case was lodged on the complaint of the victim's son Rakesh Sharma, who is a Joint Director in the Defence Ministry.

The accused has since been sent to a juvenile home.

On the other hand, the bereaved family claimed that police had pinned the blame on the juvenile to save the real culprits.