Body in mangroves: Crime Branch arrests uncle for murder of boy

Eventually, after interrogation, the police arrested Ravi Waghela on charges of murder and handed him over to the local police.

THE MUMBAI Police Crime Branch Wednesday arrested the 42-year-old relative of an 11-year-old boy whose body was found in mangroves in Versova. While the Juhu police had initially ruled out any foul play when the body of Rishi Waghela was recovered, the Crime Branch found that the boy had been murdered by a distant relative Ravi Waghela, who had tried to sodomise the boy. When the boy refused, Ravi, a scrap dealer, allegedly throttled the boy to death, an officer said.

Senior Inspector of Crime Branch (unit 9) Mahesh Desai said they had been investigating the case after the boy was reported missing by his parents and an FIR was registered at Juhu police station on November 22. The boy’s body was eventually found in a patch of mangroves in Versova on Sunday. “During investigation, it came to light that the boy’s uncle Ravi Waghela had lured him to the isolated patch by telling him that he will help him catch a pigeon. He then pulled off the boy’s shirt and tried to sodomise him,” an officer said.

When the boy resisted, the accused tried to overpower him and killed him by throttling him, the officer added. “The accused said he was scared that the boy would tell his parents if he allowed him to go. Hence, he killed him and fled from the spot,” an officer said. The accused later also spoke to the family and pretended to help them find the boy after missing posters of Rishi were put up last week, an officer said.

Eventually, after interrogation, the police arrested Ravi Waghela on charges of murder and handed him over to the local police.