Kidnapped Airoli girl found dead at Mira Road, uncle arrested

NAVI MUMBAI: The crime branch officials of Navi Mumbai police have arrested a close relative of the Vaz family after their eight-year-old girl, Franshela Vaz, was kidnapped from near her Airoli residence on June 29.
Police sources informed that the girl was murdered by her uncle, identified as Clarence Fonseca, on the same day of the kidnapping, and her body was dumped at Mira Road.
At present, the cops are only stating that the accused man had kidnapped Franshela while she going towards her house in Airoli, after being dropped from the school bus of New Horizon High School.
"We arrested the girl's uncle (Clarence) on Thursday night and he has confessed to the kidnapping and killing," said a crime branch official.
The motive behind this heinous crime will be revealed later today. Reportedly, it could be an outcome of a past family dispute.
The accused is reportedly the brother-in-law of the victim's mother, who is currently ailing and bed-ridden in Airoli.
The victim, Franshela, used to be routinely dropped at her housing society gate by the school bus, after which she would walk towards her house. Her mother used to earlier pick her up, but following her illness, the minor girl used to go home unescorted.
One of the important leads that the Navi Mumbai police had got in this tragic kidnapping is that a 10-year-old boy from the same housing society had seen the victim talking to a man who was reportedly driving as red coloured car on the day of the kidnapping.
From this eyewitness account, the cops had assumed that the kidnapper was known to the victim.