The seven-year-old boy who was sodomised and then set afire in a Bhiwandi slum on April 3 breathed his last on Thursday afternoon.
The seven-year-old boy who was sodomised and then set afire in a Bhiwandi slum on April 3 breathed his last on Thursday afternoon.
His family members are under shock, as they thought their child would regain normalcy, but the burns he sustained were deep enough to injure his internal organs. They said the accused arrested by the police should be punished in a way that they dare not think of doing such a thing again.
The suspects, Gangaram Katta, 18, Ganesh Jadhav, 18, and Vishal Malwankar, 19, were booked under sections 302 (murder), 377 (unnatural offence), 363 (kidnapping), 365 (kidnapping or abducting with intent to confine a person), 342 (wrongful confinement) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code, other than under the Protection Of Children Against Sexual Offences Act, 2012.
The police are drawing up the chargesheet to be submitted in court.
One of the relatives of the boy said, "Shahid was a good boy, he was good at academics. When I heard about the incident, I cried that such a thing could have taken place with a small child, who is not even fully aware of the world around him. That it would stay with him throughout his life, but he is no more. After the incident, his mother and father were under so much pain, and everyone was calling them, asking after the boy and if they needed any help. We want pure justice for what has happened to our boy. The culprits should be hanged to death. We plan to write to NGOs and the child welfare department to guide us with the case."
Senior inspector N Rode from Bhiwandi police station says, "We have added the charge of murder to the earlier IPC sections slapped on the accused. They are still under custody and they will be investigated. We will also send a letter to the government and NGOs so the family gets help. We will take stern action against the accused."
On April 3, around 11.30 am, seven-year-old Shahid Mohammed was abducted by the suspects and taken to a slum after being lured with good food at a restaurant. The accused took him to a shanty at Kumbharwada, Bhiwandi, beat him up and sodomised him. When he cried out for help, he was tied and gagged and set ablaze. The suspects fled the spot, but locals managed to douse the fire and rushed him to hospital.
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