Boy kidnapped, killed by neighbours

An eight-year-old boy was kidnapped for money and later killed by a trusted neighbour. Azam Khan, 19, a student of a religious school, was the neighbour of Adam Gulam Shaikh, who lived with his parents at Bhagat Singh Colony in Goregaon (West).

An eight-year-old boy was kidnapped for money and later killed by a trusted neighbour. Azam Khan, 19, a student of a religious school, was the neighbour of Adam Gulam Shaikh, who lived with his parents at Bhagat Singh Colony in Goregaon (West).

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Shaikh was extremely close to Khan’s family and would often dine with them. As Khan needed money to build a house in his native place in Uttar Pradesh, he hatched the plan to abduct Shaikh for ransom.

On August 7, after having dinner with Khan’s family, Shaikh was playing when Khan and his accomplice, 21-year-old Mohammad Shahid alias Laddan, who works in an embroidery unit approached him. They lured Shaikh with the promise of ice cream.

“Khan and Laddan had not planned the kidnapping well. They had not arranged for a hideout and a few hours later, the boy began wailing because he wanted to go home.The duo were worried that his crying would attract the attention of passers-by. So, Khan strangulated the boy with his hands and with the help of Laddan, dumped his body near the tracks between Malad and Goregaon stations,” said Chimaji Aadhav, assistant police inspector, crime branch (unit 11). After killing Shaikh, the duo returned home.

Meanwhile, Adam’s frantic family approached the Bangur Nagar police and lodged a missing person’s complaint.

The next day, Adam’s father Gulam Shaikh received an anonymous call and the caller assured him that he would get him his son on receiving a payment. Gulam approached the police to register a case of kidnapping and extortion.

The crime branch, which had started a parallel inquiry, observed that Khan seemed too concerned about the boy. “We suspected foul play as he would act strangely when the police was around. We called him for questioning on Thursday and he cracked under pressure. He confessed to his crime,” Aadhav said.

Azam led the police to Laddan and to the spot where Shaikh’s body had been dumped. The body was highly decomposed and sent for a post mortem. “Azam and Laddan have been arrested for murder, kidnapping and extortion,” said Aadhav.