Man held for kidnaping, trying to kill 6-year-old boy from Dharavi

“The parents of the boy tried looking for him in the vicinity but as he was nowhere to be found, they reported the matter at the police station,” said senior police inspector Raja Bidkar of Dharavi police station.

A case was subsequently registered and during the course of investigation, the police started scrutinising CCTV footage of the spot.

“While we were also conducting enquiries with locals, another boy confirmed that he had seen the six-year-old with a man,” said a police officer adding, “We then searched for CCTV footage of that area and we found footage in which the victim could be seen walking with the suspect.”

The police said the father of the boy later informed them that the suspect is Mohammad Najeeb Wasiul Rehman Shaikh and he stays in the same area. The investigators then started following the suspect and the six-year-old through the CCTV cameras installed on the streets.

“While we were looking for a clue at Bandra railway station on Saturday, we received information that the boy was located at Virar railway station. He was in the custody of Railway Police Force there,” said an investigator.

A team was dispatched to the location and a preliminary inquiry was conducted when the boy told the police that the suspect had strangled him with a belt and tried to kill him.

“Shaikh had also alighted the train at Virar railway station and we detained him from a nearby locality,” said Bidkar.

The police said the accused has been booked under relevant sections of kidnapping and attempt-to-murder. “Sheikh and the six-year-old boy’s father were into a pharmacy business together. But owing to some dispute they had to part ways. However, Sheikh still had some grudge against him. So he decided to teach him a lesson by kidnapping his son,” added Bidkar.