A Govandi resident, arrested for his seven-year-old nephew’s murder, has said the boy’s demands for toys and sweets, coupled with his anger against the boy’s parents, pushed him to kill the nephew, the Shivaji Nagar police said on Monday.
Irfan Ansari (7) had gone missing from near his father’s zari workshop on January 26. On Sunday, the police arrested his uncle, Naushad (22), in connection with the murder.
Increasing frustration
According to the police, Naushad, in his confession, has alleged that he was getting increasingly frustrated as on the one hand, he never had enough money despite working hard for his brother (Irfan’s father), and on the other, Irfan would constantly demand toys and sweets from him, which he could not afford.
“The accused was angry with the victim’s parents, particularly his mother, for a lot of reasons. According to him, they would not pay him enough for the work he did. Sometimes, they did not even give him food or let him wash his clothes, he has said in his interrogation,” senior police inspector Deepak Pagare, Shivaji Nagar police station, said.
Naushad told the police that on January 26, he picked up Irfan from near a salon close to his father’s workplace with the idea of teaching him a lesson and hurting his parents for their mistreatment.
“The accused hit Irfan with a beer bottle on the stomach and chest, before strangling him. He then dumped the body in Deonar, where it was found on Sunday,” Mr. Pagare said.
The police said Naushad had moved to Mumbai from his home town in Bihar four months ago. A primary school drop-out, Naushad was keen on working in a city and hence decided to help his brother out at the zari workshop. While the situation was fine initially, differences developed gradually between them and only worsened with time.
Suspicious behaviour
While Naushad tried to act normal after Irfan’s disappearance was reported to the police, inquiries in the area made the police suspicious of him. “We came across many locals who had last seen the boy with the accused. When we called him for an inquiry, he did not give satisfactory responses. After intensive questioning, he finally confessed,” an officer who is part of the investigation said.
Naushad has been charged with murder under the Indian Penal Code and is being interrogated further so that the police can verify the exact sequence of events, officers said.
