Pune: A search for a missing 12-year-old boy who was allegedly taken from school by his mother’s live-in partner on December 11 emerged when his body was found at the bottom of an abandoned well near Rajapur, India A tragic turn.
That morning, police found the partner hanging in a nearby house and tracked the body to a well.
Investigators told TOI that the boy’s mother separated from his father five years ago and lived with the boy and his 13-year-old sister in Sangamner.
“But their relationship was rocky; they often quarreled. Last year, the partner (a known offender) suspected the boy’s mother of having an affair and attacked her. At that time, Sangamna police registered a case of ‘attempt to pagan’ (Khandala) Police Inspector Netaji Gandhare said the case is under review.
Gandhar said the woman then began to separate from her partner and feared the quarrel would affect her two children. “She took them to her husband’s house in Ambergonil Gudsar and left them there. She started living in Manchal. But her partner kept pressuring her to withdraw her interest. His assault charges.
On December 11, the boy’s father filed a missing case with the Pargaon (Khandala) police and the school staff told him that the boy told the teacher that he was leaving with an “acquaintance” of Sangamner. “They left the school around 12.30 pm. The complainant’s sister also told the father that the same person who picked up the boy from school had earlier approached her to inquire about the child,” Gandhar said, adding that the police CCTV footage from the school has been retrieved showing the man and boy leaving the house.
After the father lodged a kidnapping complaint, police, along with officers from the local crime branch, got to work. They first visited Sangamna and Manchal but failed to find the mother’s partner and the boy. “The man’s cell phone was also unreachable,” Gandhare said.
But the search took a dramatic turn on Tuesday morning when the partner’s body was found hanging on the first floor of his home in Gulvadi, Sangamna taluka. According to police officials, he likely hanged himself after returning home the night before.
“We recovered what appeared to be a suicide note from the house. In it, he mentioned the name of the boy’s mother but not the child,” Gandhar said.
In addition to the note, police also seized the man’s mobile phone from the house. “We went through his phone list and managed to find some of his contacts for questioning. One of them told us that while he was drinking, the man confided in him that he had murdered the boy and thrown the boy away. “The bodies were thrown into dry wells,” Gandhare added.
Based on the condition of the bodies, investigators suspect the children were murdered within a day or two of the abduction, police officials said. “We found him in a highly decomposed state. After the abduction, the man called the boy’s mother and told her that he would release him if she would withdraw the assault charges and come back to live with him,” Gandar said.
That morning, police found the partner hanging in a nearby house and tracked the body to a well.
Investigators told TOI that the boy’s mother separated from his father five years ago and lived with the boy and his 13-year-old sister in Sangamner.
“But their relationship was rocky; they often quarreled. Last year, the partner (a known offender) suspected the boy’s mother of having an affair and attacked her. At that time, Sangamna police registered a case of ‘attempt to pagan’ (Khandala) Police Inspector Netaji Gandhare said the case is under review.
Gandhar said the woman then began to separate from her partner and feared the quarrel would affect her two children. “She took them to her husband’s house in Ambergonil Gudsar and left them there. She started living in Manchal. But her partner kept pressuring her to withdraw her interest. His assault charges.
On December 11, the boy’s father filed a missing case with the Pargaon (Khandala) police and the school staff told him that the boy told the teacher that he was leaving with an “acquaintance” of Sangamner. “They left the school around 12.30 pm. The complainant’s sister also told the father that the same person who picked up the boy from school had earlier approached her to inquire about the child,” Gandhar said, adding that the police CCTV footage from the school has been retrieved showing the man and boy leaving the house.
After the father lodged a kidnapping complaint, police, along with officers from the local crime branch, got to work. They first visited Sangamna and Manchal but failed to find the mother’s partner and the boy. “The man’s cell phone was also unreachable,” Gandhare said.
But the search took a dramatic turn on Tuesday morning when the partner’s body was found hanging on the first floor of his home in Gulvadi, Sangamna taluka. According to police officials, he likely hanged himself after returning home the night before.
“We recovered what appeared to be a suicide note from the house. In it, he mentioned the name of the boy’s mother but not the child,” Gandhar said.
In addition to the note, police also seized the man’s mobile phone from the house. “We went through his phone list and managed to find some of his contacts for questioning. One of them told us that while he was drinking, the man confided in him that he had murdered the boy and thrown the boy away. “The bodies were thrown into dry wells,” Gandhare added.
Based on the condition of the bodies, investigators suspect the children were murdered within a day or two of the abduction, police officials said. “We found him in a highly decomposed state. After the abduction, the man called the boy’s mother and told her that he would release him if she would withdraw the assault charges and come back to live with him,” Gandar said.
