Mumbai: Family alleges poor police response on missing Vasai teen

This picture has been used for representational purpose

Alleged negligence of the police in a minor boy's kidnapping case, registered at Vasai police station on August 30, has riled the nerves of his family. The boy allegedly jumped to his death before a train in Bhayandar just hours after he left home, but the investigating team learnt about his death on the night of September 17. This was only after the boy's father approached a senior police official to complain of a "ransom call" from an unknown number in West Bengal.

The 16-year-old boy left his home to meet his friends on August 29, his cousin told mid-day. "He reached Vasai railway station and boarded a Churchgate-bound local train at 1.28 pm and got down at Bhayandar at 1.33 pm. He allegedly jumped before a mail train on August 29 around 2 pm," said his Pankaj Jaiswal.

When the boy did not reach home, the father approached Vasai police station on August 30 and a missing complaint was registered. Since the boy was a minor, section 363 (kidnapping) of IPC was added to the FIR.

Another cousin, Dinesh Jaiswal, alleged that the Vasai police did not initiate investigation into the matter despite knowing that a minor boy has gone missing. The investigating officer API Vinod Wagh said, "We had been conducting the investigation. We had also looked into the ransom call."