Kidnapper killed 5-year-old to teach his mother a lesson

Police at the spot in Boisar where the boy’s body was found. Pic/Hanif Patel

A 25-year-old man has been arrested for killing a five-year-old boy who had gone missing on December 6 in Boisar, Palghar district. Palghar police told mid-day that the accused, Mahendra Singh, was allegedly in an illicit relationship with the mother of the deceased. "When she refused to continue her illicit relationship with Singh, they had a heated argument and he decided to teach her a lesson," said a police officer attached to the Boisar police station, where initially a missing and kidnapping case was registered the day the boy went missing.

‘Accused joined search for the five-year-old boy'

Singh is a neighbour of the boy in Boisar. "After killing the boy, Singh pretended as if nothing had happened. He even visited the police station with the family members of the minor boy to register the missing complaint. He also joined the boy's parents and friends in looking for him," said the officer. Since the matter was sensitive, the local Crime Branch was involved in the search operation. "On December 8, the body of a minor boy was recovered from a compound wall near a drain in MIDC Tarapur.

Mahendra Singh, the accused, stays in the same locality as the boy's family

The body was identified by the parents of the minor boy whose missing complaint was registered on December 6," said the officer. LCB sleuths including PSI Ashish Patil and his team found CCTV footage in which a person was seen carrying a body on a motorcycle. "Police found the registration number of Singh's motorcycle in it and also a passport size photograph of his where the body was dumped," the father of the boy told mid-day.

"The body language of Singh spoke a lot. He first kidnapped the boy, then forced his face into a water filled bucket for 3 minutes. When he was sure that the boy had died, he concealed the body in his room," said PSI Patil. "In the wee hours of December 7, Singh stuffed the body in a bag and left home on his motorcycle. After driving for around two kilometres, he reached MIDC Tarapur and dumped the body. We recovered a passport size photograph of Singh from the spot where the body was dumped," PSI Patil told mid-day.

Had claimed he was being framed

When the cops asked Singh how his photograph was found at the spot, he allegedly told them, "Someone is trying to falsely implicate me in this case. I have no idea how my photo was found there." But later he spilt the beans and was placed under arrest. He was produced before a court that has sent him in police remand till December 13. The mother of the boy was also interrogated to verify the claims of Singh, who told the police she wished to break off with him.

Was boy's father's colleague

The father of the boy said, "The accused is trying to malign our image. He is my colleague in a private firm. He lives in the same neighbourhood. My son had been knocking on his door on December 6 afternoon. Since his sleep was disturbed, Singh opened the door and killed my son. Later he disposed of the body." Boisar police have added sections of 302 (murder) and 201 (destruction of evidence) to the kidnapping case. Further investigations are underway.