20-year-old prime accused was known for bad behaviour, notorious acts: society residents

While the Bhosale family lives on the first floor of the same building, the Ogale family lives on the fifth floor.

Residents claimed that Manthan used to frequently throw stones and bottles from his flat in the parking lot, which had damaged several vehicles. “His bad behaviour had resulted in several quarrels between the residents and his family. He had become whimsical and indulged in notorious acts,” said Sunny Diwan, a resident.

Former corporator Rajesh Pillay, who lives in the same Masulkar Colony area, said, “I had received several complaints about this youngster’s bad behaviour with other residents. He has several friends from nearby slum areas. They all consume drugs in Masulkar Colony area and indulge in objectionable behaviour.”

Another resident said, “As Mathan was consuming drugs, his family had kept him in a de-addiction centre. He was at the centre for a year. Just 15-20 days back, he was again seen in the society.”

Police said that Manthan had planned the kidnapping of Aditya at least 15 days ago. His school friend Aniket Samdar (21), who lives in Gharkul, Chikhli became his accomplice in the matter. Aniket had recently got married and was living in Mumbai with his wife. “He needed money. Manthan told him that they will kidnap Aditya and demand Rs 20 crore. They expected to get at least Rs 4-5 lakh,” police said.

Police said that Manthan and his friend had failed to kidnap Aditya in their earlier attempts. Then he struck up another plan. He knew Aditya was close to his aunt, who lives in another area. So, on Thursday evening when Aditya came down to the parking area, Mathan told him that his aunt wanted to see him. As Manthan and his friend tried to pull him inside the car, Aditya started screaming alarming the accused, who strangled the seven-year-old with his hands.

“The car with a tinted windshield was parked by Manthan in a corner of the society where the CCTV could not capture their act. The vehicle belonged to Manthan’s father,” sources said. The accused then took the body to the vacant premises of an industrial unit, which was shut. “Both of them used to smoke cigarettes and consume ganja at this premise,” sources said.