Couple held for ‘torturing’ minor

Police said they had received a call from Childline informing them about the boy who had been brought to them by a resident of a neighbouring flat. The resident had rescued the child and handed him over to the Childline members.

The complainant, identified only as Ali, stayed in the flat above the Sayyed family, and reacted after he saw a young boy crying from the neighbours’ window. The boy told Ali that he was beaten up by Nasir Sayyed and his wife.

The boy also told Ali that he was brought to Mumbai from Jharkhand by Nasir promising his parents that he would get a better education. However, Nasir and his wife made him work at home and gave him Rs 10 a day.

“The couple allegedly burnt him with a hot knife when he made mistakes in daily chores. We have sent the boy for a medical examination,” said sub-inspector Aslam Khatib.