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Abduction, murder of 5-year-old: Accused tried to be friendly, gave us food, says mother
The woman, who hails from Pilibanga in Rajasthan, had arrived at the station only hours before and was waiting to take a train to Pratapgarh when she lost her son
“My son died due to the negligence of the Government Railway Police (GRP). Had GRP personnel been alert, the accused would have been caught earlier and my son would be on my lap,” said the mother of a five-year-old boy who was reportedly kidnapped, sexually assaulted and murdered at the Charbagh railway station here in the wee hours of Monday.
The woman, who hails from Pilibanga in Rajasthan, had arrived at the station only hours before and was waiting to take a train to Pratapgarh when she lost her son. Police said Ibrahim, 25, who had been arrested, kidnapped the child, took him to the railway yard where he assaulted him and gagged him to death. Meanwhile, the post-mortem report clarified that the cause of death was a head injury.
According to the woman, there was no CCTV coverage in the railway yard where her son’s body was found. “Due to this, the murderer could not be captured on camera. My son could have been rescued had the police acted in time.”
On how her son was targeted by the accused, she said Ibrahim tried to speak to the mother and son as he sat next to them at the station. “A few moments later, Ibrahim told me that my son was hungry. So, he gave us some rice to eat, but I refused his offer initially. Later, my son and I ate the rice after which I fainted. When I regained consciousness, I found my son missing,” she said.
“When I could not find my son anywhere, other passengers told me to inform the GRP. GRP officials asked me to also look for my son even as they searched for him. During my search, a shopkeeper told me that a child’s body had been found in the railway yard. When I went there, I saw that it was my son.”
The woman said she was tired as she waited for her train which was an hour late. “I ate the food that my son’s murderer offered. Due to this, I fell asleep. If the train was not late, my son would have been alive,” she added.
Also, the woman’s brother-in-law, reached Lucknow after learning of his nephew’s death. According to him, Kanchan and his nephew left Hanumangarh Asaliya in Rajasthan on Saturday. “Her husband is a daily wage worker. His ailment prevented him from coming here. Till now, police have not made any public statement in the case. We were not even permitted to see the body,” he added.
Responding to the family’s claims, Prashant Verma, the superintendent of police of GRP-Lucknow, said, “Police began looking for the boy as soon as the mother reported him missing to us. The boy was seen in CCTV footage.”
The accused was caught with the help of CCTV footage shortly after the body was found.
“We have added critical charges such as murder and sexual assault to the FIR. The accused is already in jail and we are recommending the harshest of punishment,” added Verma.
