A 20-year-old loom worker has been arrested in Bhiwandi for allegedly killing a four-year-old girl and dismembering her body to avenge humiliation at the hands of her father two months ago.
Bhoiwada police said the victim, Payal Prasad, was a resident of Roshan Baug area in Bhiwandi. The police said Payal did not return after leaving her home at around 4.30 p.m. to play in a nearby ground on April 1.
The next day, her father, Mahadev Prasad, approached Bhiwandi police, who registered a case of kidnapping against unknown persons and initiated an investigation.
On April 4, residents of Roshanbaug found the decomposed, bloated body of a girl behind Mohamadiya Mosque. The arms of the child had been severed, and a few toes on the left leg were missing, sparking off fears of a black magic ritual.
Father identifies body
The police was called in and Mr. Prasad identified the body as that of his daughter. The police then added Section 302 (murder) under the Indian Penal Code in the First Information Report.
Sunil Bharadwaj, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone IV), Thane police, said, “We learned through local informants that Abed Sheikh, a loom worker staying in the locality, had been missing since the day Payal’s body was found. We probed the angle further, and learned that he left for his home town in Bihar. A team was sent to Bihar to pick him up and take him in for questioning.”
Mr. Sheikh was brought back to Bhiwandi and placed under arrest on Sunday night after he admitted during interrogation that he had killed Payal. Mr. Bharadwaj said, “Payal’s father runs a pan beedi shop in Bhiwandi and the accused owed him around ₹1,500. He refused to pay the money despite repeated reminders. Around two months ago, Mr. Prasad publicly assaulted Sheikh over the issue of unpaid dues. Angered over his public humiliation, Sheikh murdered Payal and dismembered her body to exact revenge on Mr. Prasad.”
The police are still conducting inquiries to find out how Mr. Sheikh managed to kidnap Payal from the playground and what weapon was used to dismember her body.
An officer said, “Prima facie, it seems that the murder was the result of his rage. We were initially unsure about whether her hands and toes had been chewed at by rodents, but post mortem reports have confirmed that they were severed with a sharp weapon. He might have lured her away by promising to buy her sweets. We are interrogating him to ascertain how he killed her.”
