Two weeks after 11-year-old’s mysterious death in Mumbai, cops still clueless

The police are awaiting the chemical analysis, which may shed new light on the case.

The Mankhurd police have registered the mysterious death of an 11-year-old boy, whose body was found close to his residence in Mandala earlier this month, as a murder case. The body was found by a sweeper on the morning of April 2. However, the cause of death has still not been determined.

The victim, Jeet (right) with his mother, Bacchidevi.(HT photo) (HT photo)

The victim, Jeet, lived in a slum area with his parents Ramvilas, 62, and Bacchidevi, 40, and sister, Sangeetadevi, 18. He was last seen participating in a Hanuman Jayanti procession. His family had lodged a missing person’s complaint, before the body was found.

“We do not have any enmity with anyone and my son was healthy. He was operated for tonsils a year back at a good hospital and there was no ailment,” said Ramvilas. “The place where the body was found has a few shanties in the vicinity and it is difficult to believe that there are no witnesses.”

“I want a thorough investigation and the killers should be nabbed,” said Bacchidevi.

“He left the house to participate in the procession but never returned. No one has come forward to give us any leads about the murder,” said Sangeetadevi.

The local police and the crime branch have questioned several people, including close family members, but they have received no leads yet. The post-mortem has been conducted, but doctors have reserved their opinion. They will come to a conclusion only after a chemical analysis.

“We are investigating the case keeping in mind all the angles,” said Shahji Umap, deputy commissioner of police, zone 6.

There were no grievous injuries or signs of strangulation on the boy’s body, said the police. Doctors have said that nail marks cannot be treated as the cause of death. No internal injuries or sexual assault was detected in the autopsy.

“We have investigated all theories, right from personal enmity to family disputes, but there has been no breakthrough,” said a police officer privy to the investigation.

“Jeet was a witness in a case of sodomy committed against a minor, and had stated that he was not seen anything in the court. We even investigated the links to the case and his death, but to no avail.”

The police are now awaiting the chemical analysis, which may shed new light on the case.