Mumbai: A seven-year-old girl is suspected of being kidnapped by an acquaintance on Friday afternoon. The girl’s mother has registered a case of kidnapping against the suspect, Yusuf Shaikh (50), who had taken the girl with him on the pretext of taking her to a mosque in Andheri. A search operation is underway to rescue the minor and nab Shaikh, who is the prime suspect in the kidnapping case.
According to police sources, the girl’s mother, a widow, stays near Andheri railway station and sells wreaths (gajras) for a living. On Friday, the complainant was down with jaundice and she went to the doctor with the suspect, Shaikh. After they returned from the doctor’s clinic a few hours later and served lunch to her daughter, Shaikh and another male friend. At 1pm, Shaikh wanted to go to the mosque and asked the complainant if he could take her daughter as well. Since Shaikh used to take the woman’s daughter for rounds frequently, she did not suspect anything foul and granted him permission.
Police said, hours later when Shaikh did not return with the woman’s seven-year-old daughter, she started enquiring with people. At first, the woman thought that since it was the month of Ramzan, Shaikh would bring her daughter post dinner. However, when Shaikh was untraceable and did not return till late Friday night, the woman approached Andheri Police and registered a missing complaint.
Accordingly, Andheri police have booked Shaikh under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code for kidnapping (section 363) and are on the lookout for him. Meanwhile, police are scrutinising the CCTV camera footage of the area in Chappal Gully, where Shaikh was supposed to take the girl to visit a mosque.
