Mumbai: Man held for murder of nine-year-old in Santacruz

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The Santacruz police have arrested a man for allegedly abducting and killing a nine-year-old boy. The incident took place on the evening of Chhath Puja. Police said the accused, identified as Maheshwar Mukhiya, 31, a garment shop worker, abducted the boy on the evening of the festival from near his residence in Santacruz West and strangled him to death.

He later put the body in a sack and dumped it on the roof of a garment factory in Santacruz and fled to Bihar. Police sources have said that the man confessed to wanting to sexually assault the child which is why he lured him. Police said the nine-year-old went missing on November 7, adding that a missing person report was filed on November 8 when the boy's parents approached them with their complaint.

The boy's decomposed body was found on November 11 by the police following complaints of a foul smell. After the body was found, it was sent for post-mortem and a murder case was registered in this regard. Under the guidance of the deputy commissioner of police, Dixit Gedam, zone 8, a team was formed to nab the accused.

The police said that they scrutinised the CCTV footage from the area, which showed the accused leaving the premises suspiciously carrying a sack. Further enquiry into the incident revealed that the accused had fled to his native village Madhubani in Bihar, on the night of the incident. Following this, a a team of cops travelled to Bihar. After several hours of surveillance, they apprehended Maheshwar from Madhubani on Saturday and brought him back to Mumbai.

Maheshwar told the police that he had tried to sexually assault the boy but had to kill him when he started screaming. He was produced in the court on Sunday, where he was remanded in police custody for further investigation.