Mumbai, Aug. 21: A weekend kidnapping and murder involving school and college teens and fast cars has been blamed on the eldest of the gang, a jobless youth who wanted money to settle in Dubai.
The body of Adnan Patrawala, the 16-year-old son of a businessman, was found in a ditch last evening. The killers — said to be his friends — played pool with the victim and drove around with him in his Skoda Octavia just before the crime on Sunday, officers said.
Police have accused 28-year-old Sujit Nair, possibly the only adult in the gang, of plotting the kidnapping because he wanted to settle in Dubai, where his mother works as a nurse.
Suspicion fell on Adnan’s friends after he left home on Saturday night and calls for a Rs 2-crore ransom began coming on Sunday. The callers spoke English and seemed cultured, the family told the police.
Nair and two friends, Ayush Bhatt and Khimesh Ambavat, were arrested yesterday morning. A magistrate today remanded Nair and Bhatt, 19, in police custody till August 28 and directed Khimesh, 17, to be produced before a juvenile court.
Nair, who arrived in Mumbai a few years ago from Kerala, lived alone in rented rooms in Malad’s Malvani area. He had quit his call-centre job six months ago.
The police said Nair had met and befriended Adnan at a pool parlour in Mumbai’s biggest shopping mall, Inorbit, eight months ago.
Adnan — whose Orkut profile lists partying, driving, cricket and playing the drums among his passions — became chummy with Nair’s entire set of friends. They included Ayush, a trained drummer and a musician’s son, Khimesh and two other boys identified only as Rajan and Lalla who are absconding.
Adnan was a first-year student at CW College, Ayush had flunked his Class XII exams from S.M. Lal College and Khimesh is a Class XI student at Thakur College.
The officers said that on Saturday night, Ayush invited Adnan to their hangout at Inorbit. Adnan left home around 11pm and later called up his family to say he would be sleeping at a friend’s place.
The boys then drove in Adnan’s silver Skoda towards Ayush’s home in Kandivli. Suddenly, the others overpowered Adnan, the police said. Nair then drove the car towards Lonavla before returning to Panvel on the outskirts of Navi Mumbai.
Several ransom calls were made to Adnan’s father Aslam, a manufacturer of air-conditioner components, who informed the police.
On Sunday afternoon, when news channels began reporting the kidnapping, a friend alerted Nair that the police were on their trail.
The arrested trio have reportedly confessed to the officers that they panicked, gave Adnan a drink laced with sedatives and strangled him with a nylon rope.
Ayush was arrested yesterday morning from his home. He led the police to Khimesh and Nair and in the evening, the trio helped the officers find the body off Palm Beach Road, Navi Mumbai.
Ayush’s musician father denied his son’s involvement. “He was just a close friend of Adnan. He was home on Sunday night when the police claim the murder took place,’’ Arun Bhatt said.
Several questions remain unanswered. Why could the police not trap the group earlier despite having the Skoda’s number? Why was the car not stopped or searched though it passed several checkposts? Who actually killed Adnan?
“We can’t comment at this juncture,’’ deputy commissioner V.K. Chaubey said.
