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Journalism of Courage
Five days after two children–a five-year-old boy and an eight-year-old girl–were kidnapped from their Mankhurd residence, the Trombay police arrested a 55-year-old man from Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar on Friday. The accused had kept the children at his native village for two days.
Police said the accused, Santosh Jadhav, who works as a security guard, had been staying at a relative’s home in Mankhurd for two weeks as a neighbour to the victim’s family. During this period, he built a rapport with the children and their family.
“Jadhav claims that he kidnapped the children as he became too close to them. So, he took them to his native place in Sambhaji Nagar,” said an officer.
According to the police, a kidnapping complaint was registered by the children’s grandmother, Zamina Ayub Mandal, 50, on September 15. Mandal lives in Maharashtra Nagar, Mankhurd (East), along with her two daughters, Momina, 27, and Sheetal, 25, and Momina’s two children, the five-year-old boy and the eight-year-old girl.
Jadhav, who has a wife and children, works as a security guard in Mankhurd. For the past two weeks, he had been staying with relatives in the area and would frequently visit Mandal’s residence and play with the children.
“Due to this, the children knew the accused,” said a police officer.
On the night of September 15, around 9.30 pm, Jadhav visited the victim’s home.
“He had tea, and the complainant even gave him food. Jadhav told the complainant that he was going to his native place in Aurangabad for a few days. So, he was taking the children out for a while to buy crackers and would immediately drop them home,” said a police officer.
However, Jadhav never returned with the children. The family waited for over an hour and then began searching the area. When enquiries with relatives and neighbours yielded no clue, Mandal approached the Trombay police and lodged a kidnapping complaint.
Given the seriousness of the case, several police teams were formed. Jadhav’s location was traced to Aurangabad. However, once the accused learned the police were after him, he panicked.
“He brought the children to Mumbai on September 17 and dropped them near the house before fleeing again to his native place,” said an officer.
“It was a major relief for us as the children came home, but we continued chasing the accused and finally arrested him on Friday and brought him to Mumbai,” said a senior officer.
“The accused confessed that he became too close to the children. So, he took them to his native place. But the real fact will be clear once he is interrogated in detail,” the officer added.
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