Two held for killing, kidnapping father-son duo

The police on Thursday arrested two men for kidnapping and murdering a 10-year-old boy and his father, whose bodies were recovered from different parts of Palghar district. The police have identified the accused as Vishnu Patil (35) and Monu Sahni (20). On Tuesday, the body of 10-year-old Harsh Kargal was found in Dahisar lake in Virar by locals. The police had found that his mouth was sealed with a sellotape. The police had initially suspected his father Chandrakant Kargal, as he had picked him up from school on Monday.

The boy’s mother had filed a missing person’s complaint at Virar police station on Monday, when the father and the son did not come home several hours later. On Wednesday, however, the police found Chandrakant’s body dumped in a creek in Bolinj, Virar.

Like his son, Chandrakant’s mouth had also been taped, the police said. During the investigations, the police found that Chandrakant was involved in a financial dispute with two local men.

“The deceased had paid Rs 12 lakh to the accused to purchase a plot in Virar. But later, he changed his mind about the purchase and asked for his money back. However, the accused had already spent the money,” said Manjunath Singe, Superintendent of Police, Palghar district.

A police officer, part of the investigation, said the accused then decided to kidnap Chandrakant. “They found out which school Harsh attended to and trailed Chandrakant there on Monday afternoon. But later they saw him returning home with his son, and decided to kidnap both of them. They forced them to get inside their car,” said Singe.

He added the accused drove Chandrakant and Harsh to a flat in Bolinj. “Harsh was made to stay in the car, while Chandrakant was taken upstairs where he was killed. Then the accused came back to the car, killed Harsh and dumped his body in the lake. Later, they dumped Chandrakant’s body in a creek nearby,” he said.

The police said that Patil works as a real estate agent while Sahni is a mechanic. Both have been booked with kidnap and murder and will be produced in court on Friday, the police said.