Body of 12-yr-old boy found stuffed in a suitcase in Mumbai

THE BODY of a boy, wrapped in a blanket with his hands and legs tied, was found inside a suitcase near Kurla Terminus yard on Sunday evening. The boy was aged around 12, police said.

The police are on the lookout for an unidentified middle-aged man who has been caught on two CCTV cameras near the station, carrying the suitcase.

“The unidentified man was seen getting off a cab with a suitcase at 7.05 pm outside the main Lokmanya Tilak Terminus building. He briefly disappeared and reappeared at 7.14 pm, this time on the platform where the parcel yard is located,” an investigator said.

The man, wearing an untucked, light-coloured full-sleeved shirt with dark pants, was seen “calmly pulling” the suitcase behind him. The police said he got off the platform and walked on a road that led to a nearby farm, where he allegedly dumped the suitcase.

Amit Piwal, who lives in the slum adjacent to the farm, said he alerted the police after another local told him about the suitcase.

“I was returning home from work when I got to know of the suitcase. It was strange to see a suitcase in that small farm,” said Piwal, who contacted the Tilak Nagar police at 8.26 pm.

When the police arrived at the spot, they found the body of the unidentified boy, hands and legs tied and fully clothed, stuffed inside the suitcase.

The boy had strangulation marks on his neck, the police said.

“Prima facie, it appears that the murder took place earlier on Sunday as the body was relatively fresh,” an investigator said.

The body was sent to the nearby Rajawadi hospital for a forensic examination.

A case of murder has been registered and the Tilak Nagar police are scrutinising footage from other CCTV cameras in the area to nab the man who was seen with the suitcase. They are also making inquires about cases of missing children.