MUMBAI: Consumed by jealousy, a 13-year-old boy allegedly killed his five-year-old cousin because she was the centre of attention of the family, and everyone adored her.
The boy allegedly took her to a remote spot on a hill near Vasai East, where they both lived, and strangled her on Saturday evening. He then took a rock and crushed her head.
The teenager was detained by the police in the early hours of Sunday after a complaint from the girl’s parents led to a search for the child. Police found her body on the hilltop.
The victim, Shidra Khatun, was the younger of two daughters of Mohammad Salman Mohammad Ramzan Khan (33). Her family lives in Shriram Nagar in Vasai East. Khan told the police that his nephew, his sister’s son, lives in an apartment adjacent to his.
On Saturday afternoon, Khan had dropped Shidra home after he picked her up for school, and then left for work. In the evening, Shidra was seen playing outside their home. When she did not return, her family started looking for her.
When they couldn’t find her by 10 pm, they started checking the CCTV footage of shops and the school in the vicinity, for clues to her whereabouts. The footage showed Khan’s 13-year-old nephew taking his daughter with him but couldn’t tell where they were going.
When questioned, the teenager told the family that he had taken Shidra to a nearby hill to play, but two men had kidnapped her. He claimed he was threatened by the men and, scared, he fled and didn’t tell anyone about the incident.
The frightened family approached the police at 11.30 pm, to report the alleged kidnapping. A police officer said they questioned the teenager, who repeated his story. Police then asked him to take them to the spot where the alleged kidnapping had taken place.
When police searched the hilly area, they found Shidra‘s body at 3 am on Sunday. The girl had strangulation marks on her neck, made allegedly by small hands.
The police further questioned the teenager and found several inconsistencies in his statement. During further interrogation, he allegedly confessed to killing Shidra.
Senior Police Inspector Jitendra Vankoti of the Pelhar police station said Shidra was everyone’s favorite and all her relatives pampered her.
The teenager said he couldn’t tolerate all the attention and love attention his cousin received, so he decided to kill her. “We have detained the boy and will produce him before the Juvenile Justice Board on Monday,” said Police Inspector (Crime) Dilip Rakh from the Pelhar police station.