A pall of gloom descended in North Nagpur on Sunday when the bodies of three missing children were discovered inside a parked SUV under mysterious circumstances after a 24-hour search. The SUV was found parked just metres away from the house of the children in Faruque Nagar. The deceased have been identified as Taufique Firoz Khan (4), Alia Firoz Khan (6) and Afrin Irshad Khan (6), all residents of Faruque Nagar. Taufique and Alia were siblings while Afreen was their friend and they were neighbours. The parents of the children are engaged in collection of scrap. A police official said that on Saturday, the children were playing in front of their house. Suddenly, they vanished without a trace, prompting their relatives to launch a search. The parents were assuming that the children might have gone to Faruque Nagar ground to play. However, when the children did not return till 7 pm and were not found in the vicinity, the parents promptly approached Pachpaoli police and lodged a complaint. An offence under Sections 363 of the Indian Penal Code was registered by the police.

 

The police launched a search operation and shared the pictures on social media to get a trace. Their relatives and local criminals were called for questioning. CCTV cameras installed in the area and adjoining roads were also scanned by the police throughout the night. However, the police did not get any clue regarding the sudden disappearance of the children. As the investigation progressed on Sunday, it became apparent that the missing children had not ventured beyond Faruque Nagar. Commissioner of Police Amitesh Kumar assumed command and directed police to launch a combing operation near their house. The entire area was meticulously combed by the police personnel, he said. An official claimed that at approximately 6.30 pm, a breakthrough occurred when a trained police dog led the investigators to a parked SUV Ford Ecosport (MH-19/BJ-8174). When a cop opened the door of the vehicle, an overpowering stench emerged from the SUV. He suspected something amiss and called his seniors. Disturbingly, the lifeless bodies of the children were found on each other between the gap of front seats and back seats. Further investigation revealed that the car had been parked by a garage owner ten days prior, said the official.

 

CP Kumar, along with Addl CP (Crime) Sanjay Patil, DCP Detection Mumakka Sudarshan, DCP Zone III Gorakh Bhamre, DCP SB Shweta Khedkar rushed to the scene. Teams of the Forensic Department and RTO were called for the examination. After performing Panchanama, the bodies were transported to the hospital for the post-mortem to determine the cause of death. The post-mortem will be performed late Sunday night with a special permission of competent authority. CP Kumar said that the investigation into this distressing incident is now underway from multiple angles, with Forensic Department officials and RTO officials actively involved. The exact cause of the children’s death, whether due to suffocation or other factors, will be determined once the post-mortem report is available, he said. A large number of onlookers gathered at the spot after the tragic death of the children. A resident said that Taufique was a very active child and it was not possible for someone to kidnap him from such a dense populated area.