Kidnapped Bhiwandi boy bludgeoned to death
In a shocking incident, a 14year-old schoolboy from Bhiwandi, who was kidnapped on October 28, was found dead on Friday, behind the pipeline off the MumbaiNashik highway of Ovali village in Bhiwandi.
According to police, The body of the boy, identified as Bilal Shakil Qureshi, was discovered at an isolated spot, close to the Ovali village pipeline and was later identified by his father Shakil, who owns a mutton shop in Nizampura, Bhiwandi.
The boy was strangled and bludgeoned to death. An accused was arrested on Friday. The abduction and killing of Bilal, a student of a Hindi school in Bhiwandi, shocked the town, with locals blaming police for their ‘failure’ to catch the culprits. It is unclear how many people were involved in the crime.
Bilal was kidnapped on October 28 when he was on his way to his father’s shop in the morning. The family registered a ‘missing’ person’s complaint. Later, the father received a ransom call and the abduction came to light, said police. "The boy's father received a call in the evening on the same day, with kidnapper demanding a ransom of `5 lakh for the son's release,” a police officer said.
Shakil earns his livelihood taking mutton orders at their shop in Bhiwandi city. Police are yet to ascertain the motive behing the kidnapping and murder of the boy. Police suspect personal enmity could be the reason for the gruesome crime.
The accused made only a single call to Shakil, demanding to pay a ransom, said the investigating officer. Police have arrested one accused so far, though they suspect more people are involved.
"We deployed teams of over 50 people and 25 officers to trace the accused, following which one of them, Wahid Ali Ansari, 20, was arrested on Friday from Bhiwandi. He is a labourer," said Vijay Bhise, a senior police inspector at Bhiwandi Bhoiwada police station. "The accused, Wahid, revealed three persons plotted the kidnapping. One of the accused worked at Shakil's shop in Bhiwandi," said Bhise. He added, "Wahid also revealed the boy was killed on the day of kidnapping. A team rushed to Ovali village where the body was dumped and found it began to decompose. The body was sent to Indira Gandhi Hospital for autopsy.”
The kidnapper’s call to Shakil was made from outside Bhiwandi city jurisdiction. The last conversation between Shakil and the accused took place on the evening of October 28. Bhiwandi police has formed two teams, one has been despatched to Manmad and the railway police has also been alerted.