Cops rescue 3-yr-old from abductors

“Sufiyan was kidnapped around 7.30 pm on Tuesday when he went to visit grandmother Mumtaz Begum,who stays at Dindoshi,along with his parents Anwar and Salma. While Sufiyan was playing in the locality when he was abducted. When a frantic search did not come up with any results,the family approached the Dindoshi police station and a case of kidnapping came to be registered,” said Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch) Himanshu Roy.

On Wednesday afternoon,the grandmother received a call from the kidnappers who told her to wait for further communication. On the same day evening,she received a text message from a cell phone which directed the family to come to Benaras Railway Junction on the evening of April 22 with a sum of Rs. 7 lakhs to collect their child.

During the investigation,a joint team of Crime Branch sleuths and the Dindoshi police became suspicious of one Salman Shaikh,a friend of Anwar,who would come out of his way to offer help and support to Anwar in his search for the missing boy. Salman also advised Anwar to visit dargahs and mosques to seek blessings for the kidnapped child’s safety.

“Salman had apparently worked for a few months at Anwar’s garage in the past. Salman was with Anwar and often asked him about the developments in the investigation. We suspected some foul play and grilled him. During the interrogation,he broke down and admitted to having masterminded the kidnapping of Sufiyan,” said Roy.

“Salman’s plan was to gain information of the development of the probe from Anwar and passing on the information to his associate Kalim Siddiqui,who had executed the kidnapping plan and taken the boy to Silvasa. Acting on his information,our team raided a safe house in Silvasa in the early hours of Thursday. We found Sufiyan there. He had been starved for the past two days,” said Roy.

Roy said Kalim Siddiqui managed to escape during the raid. However,he said,the police are on hunt for him.

At the news conference held at the Mumbai Police headquarters,an emotional Anwar said,“I had lost hopes of seeing my son ever again. However,the police worked day and night to rescue my son and I am eternally grateful for the safe return of my son.”