Thane: In a terrifying incident, a 9-year-old kid was kidnapped from outside a local mosque after evening prayers in the Goregaon village of Maharashtra’s Thane district on Sunday evening. Before being killed, the accused kept him in a sack and hid in the latter’s backyard.
The key accused was a local tailor, identified as Salman Maulvi, who kidnapped the boy named Ibad to extort Rs 23 lakh for building his new house, according to a media report.
Ibad’s family started looking for their son in the neighbourhood when he did not return home after evening prayers. While searching under the stressful situation, the boy’s father received a call demanding ransom in exchange for Ibad. The caller abruptly ended the call without revealing any other information.
As soon as the villagers got to know about Ibad’s disappearance, a dual search effort was launched — the police conducting a thorough search, and the villagers also set out to locate the missing boy.
The kidnapper changed his SIM card to avoid being caught by the cops and villagers, the report said. However, police finally tracked down Maulvi’s residence on Monday afternoon where Ibad’s body was kept in a sack and hidden in the backyard of the house.
Dr D S Swami, Thane Superintendent of Police stated that the accused is in custody and an investigation is being done. An FIR has also been registered in this matter, as per the report. Safuan Maulvi, Salman Maulvi’s brother, was also taken into custody in connection with the brutal crime.
Police have identified Salman as the main suspect and are currently investigating the possibility that other family members were also involved in this heinous crime.
According to Badlapur police station officials, Salman knew the victim and may have tricked him into accompanying him.
“In fear of getting caught in the crime, the accused however killed the child and hid the body behind his residence,” police said.
After tracing the accused’s location, police searched the residence and discovered the child’s body. Following this discovery, Salman was arrested, and the body was recovered from the scene. An investigation is being conducted into the matter.
