28 March,2026 10:07 AM IST | Mumbai | Aishwarya Iyer
The police team with the arrested duo. Pic/By Special Arrangement
A four-year-old boy was abducted and robbed of his gold earrings in Vikhroli East on March 24 between 11 am and 11.15 am. The child had stepped out alone with a Rs 10 note given by his mother to buy biscuits. His father works as a supervisor at an engineering company.
The four-year-old stepped out of his Vikhroli residence with a Rs 10 note to buy biscuits from a nearby shops
Two men roaming nearby noticed the boy and his gold studs, picked him up, and took him to a secluded spot near a nullah behind the street. There, they bit and pulled out the earrings, injuring his ear, and fled.
Police said the crime was unplanned. The accused, residents with no prior record, targeted the child randomly and did not try to hide. The family initially did not complain, assuming the earrings were of low value, but later approached the Vikhroli police.
Two men, Mohammed Bashir and Ubed Salim Shaikh noticed the boy's gold earrings, picked him up, and took him to a secluded spot near a nullah
With no CCTV cameras in the immediate vicinity, the investigation relied heavily on the child's statement. "The boy is very smart for his age. He clearly remembered details like their dressing style, physical features, the way they walked and spoke, and even the direction they came from and fled towards. This helped us greatly in tracing the accused," police said.
After escaping, the injured child told Vikhroli police exactly how the men looked, the way they walked and in which direction they went
Acting on these inputs, police teams tracked down the suspects and detained them. The accused, identified as Mohammed Bashir alias Ubed Salim Shaikh, 25, and Arbaz Zahidali Pathan alias Allu, 24, were detained and later confessed to the crime.
After escaping, the injured child told Vikhroli police exactly how the men looked, the way they walked and in which direction they went. Using his clues, police tracked down and arrested the two accused. Illustrations/Uday Mohite
The stolen four-gram gold earrings worth Rs 50,000 were recovered. Both have been remanded to three days' police custody. The operation was carried out under the supervision of Senior PI Suryakant Naikwadi, PI (Crime) Mahesh Jadhav, API Ganesh Rathod, and PSI Yogesh Chinchole.
