Man accused of beating child to death arrested
Starvation, daily beatings and an occasional 'touch' of hot iron rods were Kaleemullah's weapons against minor boys who refused to work at his bindi manufacturing unit. HT reports.
Starvation, daily beatings and an occasional 'touch' of hot iron rods were Kaleemullah's weapons against minor boys who refused to work at his bindi manufacturing unit.
He allegedly not only employed minors and forced them to work at his sweatshop, but also killed 10-year-old Moin Khan when the boy said he was unwell and couldn't work.
He was brutally beaten to death and his body dumped at a cemetery. Kaleemullah (40) is a father of four sons and his fourth son was born on April 10. Moin Khan's body was found from a cemetery in Azadpur on April 16.
The northwest Delhi police arrested the accused on Thursday from near Inderlok Metro Station while he was awaiting someone who was supposed to help him flee.
The Bharat Nagar Police swung into action on April 16 and found that some persons had brought the minor's body to the cemetery.
"The in charge of the cemetery, Rahis Khan, saw injury marks on the child's body and after not getting a satisfactory reply from the people he called the police," said Meenu Choudhary, deputy commissioner of police (northwest).
The police found that the victim, along with three other children, were working with Kaleemullah, who was also is maternal uncle, at his bindi manufacturing unit in JJ Colony, Wazirpur.
Kaleemullah had come to Delhi 15 years ago and set up a bindi manufacturing unit. He later brought his distant relative's sons from Madhubani in Bihar — brothers aged around nine and 11 years — and promised their mother that they would be taken care of.
He found two other boys in the JJ Colony and engaged them in the work at his rented residence.
"Kaleemullah beat these children and starved them for days very often. He also threatened the boys from fleeing or narrating their tale to anyone. He used to burn their skin with hot iron rods even for a minor mistake at work," said Choudhary.
Kaleemullah's wife left for her village on April 10 along with her newborn. On April 15, Moin Khan seemed reluctant to work as he was not feeling well and was unable to even stand up on his own.
"This infuriated Kaleemullah and he started beating the child; he banged his head on the wall several times. The child succumbed to his injuries. The accused fled from the spot," the DCP said.