Mumbai: The Mumbai railway police are searching for 25-year-old Vikas Kumar Shah, accused of killing his three-year-old cousin Aarav Shah and disposing of the body in a dustbin inside the Kushinagar Express’s lavatory compartment, which arrived at Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT) on Saturday. Initially registered as a kidnapping by Amroli police in Surat on August 21, the case was upgraded to murder after forensic and post-mortem reports confirmed the boy was killed with a sharp object. The post-mortem ruled out sexual assault.
Railway Crime Branch Joins Hunt for Vikas Shah
Investigators are tracking Shah’s movements in Mumbai. CCTV footage shows him at Surat railway station with the victim, boarding the Saurashtra Mail on August 21, and later at Dadar and Kurla LTT stations. His travel from Dadar to Kurla remains unclear, and he has not been traced since reaching LTT. A railway crime branch team is assisting LTT police to locate him, as his arrest may reveal the motive.
Shah had taken his aunt’s mobile phone (the victim’s mother) when he fled Surat, where he lived with his mother, sister, and the victim’s family while job-hunting. CCTV captured Shah leaving home with the child and taking a bike ride to Surat station. The boy’s body was found in the Kushinagar Express at LTT.
