Jamshedpur, Feb. 26: In a new twist to the Sonu Singh murder case, three youths, all in their early twenties, surrendered before the police on Sunday afternoon confessing to the crime.

The three, which includes Pankaj Kumar Singh, a resident of Garamnallah, Sakchi, Sanjit Singh, resident of Cable Town in Golmuri and Vinod Singh, a resident of Aurangabad, Bihar, surrendered only because Singh had ?succumbed to his injuries?.

After their subsequent interrogation, the police have not only succeeded to unfold the mystery behind the murder, but have also recovered the pistol, which was used in the murder. The pistol was recovered from a railway track near Tatanagar station.

While talking about the developments, the deputy superintendent of police (police control room), Sangeeta Kumari, said the murder was a result of hatred fostered by Pankaj against Sonu.

?Pankaj had conspired to kill Sonu Singh as the latter would sodomise him regularly,? she said.

She added that for the past two years Sonu Singh had allegedly sodomised 22-year-old Pankaj and had also threatened him. When Pankaj disclosed the matter to his parents, Sonu thrashed both Pankaj and his father.

Pankaj was later sent to his native place in Aurangabad where he stayed for two years.

?He returned to Jamshedpur last month, and as soon as Sonu came to know this, he allegedly barged into Pankaj?s house and dragged him to his den where he was sodomised again.

?This time Pankaj decided to teach his neighbour a lesson. He went back to Aurangabad and convinced his friend Vinod to murder the youth,? she said.

The official added that as the local residents were aware of Sonu Singh?s ?brutality?, no one came to his rescue while he was being shot.