Murdered boy’s mother alleges police ignored her pleas

7-year-old Pranav’s mother, Kavita alleged that the accused in the boy’s murder, Nitin Kamble, had on Sunday tried to kill both her children but had failed to do so and that’s when she had approached the police

Kalyan: A day after seven-year-old Pranav Bhosale’s body was found in the water tank of an under-construction building, the boy’s mother alleged she had complained to police on Sunday that her children’s lives were in danger, but no action was taken.

Kalyan, India - January 10, 2023: Kavita Bhosale, mother of the 7-year-old Pranav Bhosale, who was found dead in a water tank after he went missing on Monday at Tare Chawl in Ambivali. Family members and relatives demand action against the accused, in Kalyan, India, on Tuesday, January 10, 2023. (Photo by Pramod Tambe/HT Photo) (HT PHOTO)

Pranav’s mother, Kavita alleged that the accused in the boy’s murder, Nitin Kamble, had on Sunday tried to kill both her children but had failed to do so and that’s when she had approached the police.

The Mohane police have denied the allegations saying they had not received any such complaint from Kavita on Sunday.

On Tuesday, the police arrested Kamble, 36, who worked as a security guard of the Sundar Residency in Gauripada for allegedly murdering Pranav. The accused is a friend of Kavita and was said to be trying to convince her to marry him.

Kavita claimed that when she refused his repeated proposals, it led to a fight between them and Kamble decided to take revenge on her by harming her children.

“On Sunday, Nitin had forcefully taken both my kids to a river nearby. My elder son, who was smart enough to sense something amiss, pushed him away and both the boys managed to come back home safe and my elder son informed me about it.

“I had reached out to the Mohane police station and complained about Kamble. The police officials did not pay any attention to my complaint. If the police were alert enough to act on it, my son would have been alive today,” said Kavita, a widow, who two months back lost her job as a caretaker at a hospital in Kalyan.

Mohane police station’s senior inspector, Ashok Barate said, “We did not receive any such complaint from the mother before the crime took place.”

On Monday, the Khadakpada police had detained Kamble after Kavita named him as a suspect. On Tuesday, he was booked under IPC sections 363, 302 and 201and produced before the court, which remanded him in police custody for five days.

According to the police, on Monday, Kamble had picked up Pranav from his school before the school hours ended and took him to the building and pushed him into the water tank.

The Khadakpada police claimed the accused arrived at Pranav’s school around 12 noon on Monday with a chit stating he wants to take him home, and picked him up from the school.

“The auto driver, who daily picked up Pranav, reached the school at 3 pm as usual and was told that the boy had left with another man. He phoned Kavita and informed her.

She then informed the school that she had had a fight with Kamble and that it was risky to send Pranav with him. She later came to the police station to file a complaint and we initiated the process,” said an officer of Khadakpada police.

A school representative said the school had shared the CCTV footage with the police. “We helped the police with the CCTV footage, which showed Kamble picking up Pranav from the school. Also, we helped the mother to lodge a complaint at the police station as she was stressed. The incident has come as a shock for us too,” he said.

Kavita said Kamble was known to her and had helped help her get Pranav enrolled in a reputed school in the Right to Education quota.

“My brother had introduced Kamble as his friend. After my husband passed away, he had helped us. Since I did not know English, he helped my son’s admission through RTE. Never did I imagine that he would do this to us. He was after my mother’s pension money as well,” alleged Kavita.

Khadakpada police station’s senior inspector Sarjerao Patil said, “Kamble wanted her to marry Kavita and he was trying to convince her for the past week. There was some fight between the two over this.

“Kamble took revenge by killing her son. We are investigating all angles in this case. The boy was pushed into the water tank and he drowned.”