Man kidnaps minor over unpaid debt, threatens to kill him and sell his kidneys

According to the police, when the father failed to organise the money, Siddique called him again on July 28 and threatened to kill his son and sell his kidneys if the money was not returned to him by 4pm on July 29

MUMBAI: The police have arrested a man for allegedly kidnapping a 16-year-old boy on July 22 and confining him for a week to his house in Mumbra. According to the Chunabhatti police, the accused threatened to kill the minor and sell his kidneys if his father failed to repay the ₹80,000 loan he had taken from the accused.

The police tracked the accused’s phone and a police team including assistant police inspectors Swapnil Damare and Navnath Kale raided Siddique’s house in Mumbra and rescued the boy early on July 29. (Representative Image)

As per the police, the minor’s 46-year-old father runs a small shop and lives in Mumbra with his three children, two 17-year-old sons and a 13-year-old daughter. Based on the father’s complaint, the police identified the accused as Arbaaz Siddique.

Due to financial difficulties, the minor’s father had borrowed ₹80,000 from Siddique a few months ago, he told the police. In May, he visited his home town Basti in Uttar Pradesh, and returned to Qureshi Nagar in Kurla only on July 22. While he went looking for a house to rent with his elder son, he left his two other children in the care of a relative, said the police.

According to the police, when the father returned to the relative’s house around 5pm, his son was missing, and his phone was switched off. At 11pm, Siddique called him and demanded ₹1.5 lakh in exchange for his son. The accused threatened to kill the minor and dump his body if the police were informed. Afraid the accused would harm his son, the father did not approach the police, and instead tried to put together the money by even asking people in his village to buy his land.

According to the police, when the father failed to organise the money, Siddique called him again on July 28 and threatened to kill his son and sell his kidneys if the money was not returned to him by 4pm on July 29. The police added that when Siddique let the minor talk to his father, the boy admitted that he was being beaten and confined to just one room.

At that point, the father finally approached the police who acted promptly and registered a kidnapping case. The police tracked Siddique’s phone and a police team including assistant police inspectors Swapnil Damare and Navnath Kale raided Siddique’s house in Mumbra and rescued the boy early on July 29.

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Investigations revealed that the accused had called the boy pretending to be a friend, and requested to meet him near the Phoenix Mills Mall, from where he then kidnapped him. The police said that the accused fed the minor and confined him to one room. When he resisted, the accused assaulted him, the police added.