7-year-old boy, 5-year-old sister get locked in abandoned Antop Hill car, die

The police said the children’s bodies were found in the car hours later full of sweat and struggle marks, showing they made efforts to come out of the car

MUMBAI: A seven-year-old boy and his five-year-old sister died of suffocation after getting locked in an abandoned car in Sion Koliwada on Wednesday. The Antop Hill police have registered an accidental death report (ADR) in connection with the incident.

Two siblings, seven-year-old Sajid Shaikh and five-year-old Muskan Shaikh, were found dead inside an abandoned car at CGS Colony in the Antop Hill area after being missing for several hours. (Raju Shinde/HT Photo)

According to the police, Sajid Mohammad Shaikh and his sister Muskan Shaikh went to play outside their one-room home in CGS Colony, Sector 5, Sion Koliwada, around 1.30 pm on Wednesday.

They got into an abandoned car parked around 100 metres from their home probably because it was very hot. They then got locked inside the car, probably because they did not know how to open the doors. The police said the children’s bodies were found hours later full of sweat and struggle marks, showing they made several efforts to come out of the car. Prima facie, they died due to suffocation.

Mohabbat Shaikh, the children’s father who works as a temporary helper in a central government office, said Sajid and Muskan went out to play while their mother was at home. When they did not return for a long time, their mother stepped out to look for them but could not find them. “I came home and joined the search but could not find them either. Eventually, we went to the Antop Hill police station to report them missing.”

The police arrived to search for the children around 10 pm. Eventually, they found the children lying in the abandoned car, which was parked in the corner of a playground and was completely covered by dust, making its window panels completely opaque. The car was also surrounded by shrubs and, therefore, nobody had searched it. “When the police peeped inside with the help of a torch, they found the children lying in the abandoned car,” said an officer from the Antop Hill police station. The clothes of the children were completely soaked in sweat and there was froth around their mouths, the officer added.

“We rushed them to a nearby hospital, where they were declared dead. It was clear from their body and marks on the dashboard and door that they had tried to come out of the car but had been locked in the car. We have checked CCTV footage of the area and seen the footage capturing the siblings going towards the car themselves. No one else was seen with them at the time,” said Prashant Kadam, deputy commissioner of police, Zone IV.

According to the police, the abandoned car is owned by someone living in a nearby building. “We are trying to find out if he had kept the car doors open. As of now, we have registered an accidental death report in the matter and probing it,” said the Antop Hill police officer.

The incident left Shaikh and his wife shattered. “I don’t know what to say. I am shell-shocked,” said Shaikh.