A 9-year-old boy, kidnapped from outside his local mosque after evening prayers, was found dead in a sack in Maharashtra’s Thane on Monday.
The terrifying incident took place in Goregaon village in Thane’s Badlapur on Sunday evening, when the key accused — a local tailor, Salman Maulvi — kidnapped the boy, Ibad, in a bid to extort Rs 23 lakh in ransom for building a new house, NDTV reported.
Reportedly, Maulvi’s motive was to get finance for the construction of his new house.
Ibad’s family realised his disappearance when he didn’t return home after the evening prayers for a long time. They frantically searched the neighbourhood, looking for their son.
Just when they were searching for Ibad under the tense circumstance, his father — Muddasir — received a call demanding ransom in exchange for his son. However, the caller did not reveal any other details and ended the call abruptly.
A dual search operation began when the villagers also found out about the 9-year-old’s disappearance. Police launched an extensive search in the area, while the villagers also set out to find missing Ibad
Sensing the rising tension, the kidnapper tried to avoid getting caught by changing his SIM card, the report added.
Police on Monday afternoon finally tracked down Maulvi’s residence, only to discover Ibad’s corpse in a sack, hidden in the backyard of the house.
Dr DS Swami, Thane Superintendent of Police was reportedly quoted as saying, “After the kidnap, there was a ransom call made. The accused is in our custody. Investigation is being done behind the motive for murdering the child.”
Salman Maulvi’s brother, Safuan Maulvi, was also arrested in connection with the crime. Police identified Salman as the key suspect and is currently looking into the possible involvement of other family members in this brutal crime, said senior Badlapur police officer, Govind Patil.
An FIR has been registered in the matter.
