A man who allegedly hung a teenage boy upside down in his jeans factory and tortured him with electric shocks was arrested in Mumbai on Thursday along with two of his associates.

The boy is still missing, police said.

Shahenshah, the prime accused and the owner of the factory in Rabindranagar on the southern fringes of the city where jeans are acid washed, has been charged with wrongful restraint, torture of a minor, and causing grievous hurt.

The breakthrough came after the arrest of Shahenshah’s acquaintances, Mustafa Kamal and Tauhid Alam, who reportedly told the police that Shahenshah had earlier worked in Mumbai.

“We got the first clue from there. With the help of electronic footprints and human intelligence, a team of officers started pursuing the lead in Mumbai. We managed to arrest Shahenshah and two co-accused, including his brother. The victim is yet to be found,” said an officer of Diamond Harbour police district.

The police said Shahenshah, identified only by his first name, his brother Firoze and one of Shahenshah’s employees at the factory, identified as Ashique, were rounded up from Mumbai. They are being brought to the city on transit remand.

Sources said the police were trying to extract more information about the boy who was allegedly tortured by Shahenshah and his men at his factory last week.

On Wednesday, Shahenshah’s acquaintances, Kamal and Alam, allegedly gave varying statements about the boy’s whereabouts.

“They were changing their statements. At one time, they said the boy managed to flee. Later, they claimed Shahenshah took the boy away from the factory. And finally, the duo claimed that they had fled the spot and hence were not aware of what happened to the boy whom they last saw with Shahenshah,” said an officer familiar with the investigation.

The alleged incident happened a week ago, but it came to light earlier this week when a video showing a boy hanging upside down with a man giving him electric shocks gained traction on social media.

The boy and his elder brother, who are from Islampur, had come to Calcutta to work in the factory. An alleged dispute between the boys’ family and Shahenshah led to the torture, police sources said.

After the boy’s family came to know about his plight, they contacted Shahenshah and asked him to release the boy. When he did not, the police were informed. The family of the victim alleged that Shahenshah was demanding a ransom of ₹2 lakh for the boy’s release.

The elder brother of the victim, who worked at the same factory, had managed to flee, but the younger one could not.