New Delhi, Jan 30 (PTI) The world of a mother in search of her son came crashing down after receiving a video from an unknown number showing the mutilated body of her boy, whose eyes had been gouged out, in a chilling case that has led police to suspect the role of his stepfather.
The deceased, a 12-year-old boy and a Class 7 student, described by relatives as a sports enthusiast, had gone out to play on Thursday evening after returning from school, but did not come back home.
Police said the boy and his brother were dropped at their house in northeast Delhi’s Shastri Park around 6.30 pm by their stepfather, Wajid Khan, aged between 35 and 40, who works as an e-rickshaw driver.
The child is survived by his mother, around 35 years old, a married sister and two brothers aged 18 and 13.
According to a relative, the mother married Wajid in 2020 after losing her first husband to jaundice in 2019.
“In the initial days of the marriage, things were normal, but gradually he began to resent the children from her first marriage,” Rashid, the deceased’s brother-in-law, told PTI.
Rashid added that the elder daughter was married in 2020 (to him), while the two younger sons studied and stayed at a hostel in Daryaganj. The elder brother worked as an e-rickshaw driver, too, he added.
Recently, the boys expressed their wish to leave the hostel and return home, following which they moved back, Rashid said.
“Their return led to frequent arguments between the couple. Wajid would repeatedly question why the boys had come back from the hostel. There were regular disputes at home, and my mother-in-law was deeply upset with his behaviour,” Rashid said.
Police said the boy went out to play near his house and did not return. The family searched for him through the night.
The next morning, when the family approached the local police station, they received a video from an unknown number allegedly showing the boy’s body in a grievously injured condition. The mother fainted on seeing the footage, relatives said.
The number from which the video was sent has since been switched off, and Khan is suspected to be on the run, police said.
The child was taken to Jag Pravesh Chandra (JPC) Hospital, where he was declared brought dead, and the body was later referred to Guru Teg Bahadur (GTB) Hospital for post-mortem.
Further investigation is underway, police added. PTI SSJ SSJ AMJ AMJ
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