Mumbai: Two minors detained for killing 75-year-old after he allegedly touched minor inappropriately

According to police officials, the two detained minors befriended each other over a year ago, and as the girl would constantly fight with her parents, she left her house a month and a half ago and started living on her own.

An officer said, “During her lone time on the road, she happened to meet the 75-year-old man, who sold pan and cigarettes from a tempo. She started working with him as a helper on his tempo, and while no fixed salary was decided, the man promised to take care of her basic needs and give her cash at the end of the month.”

However at around 8.30pm on February 15, the police said that the septuagenarian asked her to accompany him for some work. The two initially went by train after which they took an auto rickshaw.

“The girl claims that the 75-year-old man started touching her inappropriately in the moving auto-rickshaw due to which she pushed him and a verbal altercation broke out between them,” said an officer adding, “The girl subsequently shared her live location with her 17-year-old male friend and called him.”

The police further added that when the septuagenarian stopped the rickshaw at a junction to look for a hotel room, the 17-year-old, who was already present at the area, got inside the rickshaw and asked for a lift to a location.

“While the 75-year-old agreed to drop him, he was unaware that the 16-year-old girl accompanying him had called him,” an officer said.

As the victim continued to look for a hotel to check in, the police said that the two minors confronted the 75-year-old at a location, after which the 16-year-old initially attacked him by smashing his head against a stone. Her male friend then stepped in, following which they killed him and threw his body in the bushes.

The police said that the family members of the victim reported him missing at a police station in Mira-Bhayandar-Vasai-Virar on February 16, while his decomposed body was found in another police station’s jurisdiction.

However, officials from the police station (where the missing complaint was lodged) started looking for a lead when they noticed that he had been last spotted with the 16-year-old girl, who had recently begun working with him.

“The girl was taken in custody on Saturday and she confessed to the crime and subsequently her male friend was also apprehended. They claim that they assaulted the elderly man to death because he had sexually assaulted the girl and also because he did not give her salary,” an investigator said.

“Later as the matter was later reported to our police station (where the body was found), we registered a case of murder and detained the two minors. The duo will be presented before the child welfare committee (CWC) on Monday,” a senior police officer said.