28 March,2017 01:00 PM IST | | Suraj Ojha
Tilak Nagar cops reveal how 12-year-old boy was smothered to death by son of an imitation jewellery unit owner in Malad, where he was employed, during an argument on January 7
Ranvijay Sahani
For over three months, the police hit one wall after another in their probe into the recovery of a suitcase stuffed with a body from LTT. An anonymous call finally helped crack it, and exposed a case of child labour, an 'unintentional' murder and a near perfect attempt to ditch the evidence.
The Tilak Nagar police revealed last evening that the 12-year-old boy was smothered to death - allegedly during an attempt to hush him up - by the son of an imitation jewellery unit owner in Kurar village, Malad East, where he was employed, during an argument on January 7. The killer then allegedly got his family involved in covering up the crime, and abandoned the boy's body in a suitcase at LTT. After finding no concrete lead, an anonymous caller pointed them in the direction of Kurar village, from where they picked up the killer and five accomplices.
Ranvijay Sahani uncle Krishna Sahani
The killing
The police said the 12-year-old boy, Randhir Sahani, moved from his home in Vaishali district, Bihar, to Mumbai six months to support his family. He found a job at an imitation jewellery unit in Kurar. But he kept taking ill, and refused food and work.
On January 7, Ranvijay Sahani (20), the son of the unit owner, allegedly chided him over this. The reprimand soon grew into an argument, and Ranvijay allegedly covered the child's mouth with his hand to silence him. Unable to breathe, Randhir fell unconscious. Ranvijay left, allegedly assuming that the boy had fallen asleep.
Randhir Sahani (12) moves to Mumbai from Vaishali district in Bihar six months in the hopes of supporting his financially-strapped family with a job
When he returned the next day, he tried to wake the boy up. On finding him unresponsive, Ranvijay rushed to his house nearby and confided in his parents, Shivnath Sahani (36) and Renudevi Sahani (35). The parents called Ranvijay's uncle, Krishna (28), for help. The four then hatched a plan to cover up the crime.
He is recruited at an imitation jewellery manufacturing unit in Kurar village at Malad East, but falls ill often and misses work regularly
Cover-up
Shahaji Umap, DCP, zone VI, said, "They changed the child's clothes, purchased a suitcase, stuffed the body in it and covered it with Renudevi's sari."
On January 7, Ranvijay Sahani, the son of the unit's owner, reprimands him over this, but smothers him to death during the ensuing argument
The family then boarded a taxi with the suitcase and made their way for LTT, hoping to dump it in a train. Krishna and another relative, Vinay Sahahi (33) rode ahead on a bike to keep an eye out for police nakabandis.
Ranvijay returns the next day and tries to wake the boy up by splashing water on him. On realising that the boy is dead, he rushes to his house nearby
On reaching the station, they noticed bag screeners and heavy security arrangements, and panicked. "They abandoned the bag near the station," said a police officer.
He confides in his parents and the family hatch a plan to cover the crime
Police leads
During their investigation, the police tracked down the suitcase's manufacturer, which gave a list of all its dealers. The dealers furnished names of their sellers.
The parents rope in a relative, Krishna Sahani, buy a suitcase for Rs 1,400, clothe the body in a school uniform and stuff it in the suitcase. They cover it up with a sari to make it look like the luggage only contains clothes
The police finally zeroed in on a shop in Malad, whose owner revealed that two men had bought the suitcase from him on January 8. CCTV cameras from the store threw up footage of Krishna and Ranvijay walking away with the suitcase.
The police circulated 5,000 posters of the two men's video grabs. Meanwhile, they asked schools in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai and Thane to identify the uniform the boy was clothed in, but found no luck.
They load the suitcase into a taxi and head for LTT, hoping to dump it into a train. Krishna and a relative, Vinay, lead the way on a bike and keep a lookout for nakabandis
Finally, on March 20, the police were told by an anonymous caller that he had spotted two men shown on the posters in Kurar village. A police team began scouring the area with photos of the two men and found four of the family members near the unit on Sunday. "Krishna was picked up from Baramati, Pune," said Umap.
At LTT, they are frightened by the heavy security arrangements - presence of policemen and bag screeners - and decide to change their plan
Bribe of over Rs 1 Lakh paid
Sources said a police team was also sent to Randhir's home, where his mother revealed that she had been paid Rs 1,11,000 by Ramanand Sahani (45), hailing from Vapi, Gujarat, as 'compensation' for her child's death. He told her that her son died of a protracted illness.
The family then walks a few metres and abandons the suitcase a little away from the station, assuming that they had covered their tracks
All six, including Ramanand, were arrested yesterday. While Ranvijay has been booked under section 320 (murder) of the IPC, the other five are charged with section 120B (criminal conspiracy).
