Accused promised to help family in their search for Abdul

HYDERABAD: Even while the neighbourhood searched for eight-year-old Abdul Wahed Khan, and as the police began an investigation, the accused, Imran Ali Khan alias Fiza Jahaan, stayed put. He spent the time sitting at the entrance of his house. His elder brother and sister as well as their relatives live elsewhere in the same neighbourhood.

Locals said that the police have not installed cameras in the lanes and that only a few households had cameras because they work in the textile sector and keep their inventory outside their homes. Most of the CCTV cameras, according to a resident, are defunct.

It was one of the cameras installed by a resident that provided a lead to Imran. The video showed him accused of attempting to hail an autorickshaw to his door. Because a few bicycles were in the way, the autorickshaw stopped at the lane entrance.

Imran carried the bag containing Abdul's body and put it inside the vehicle after making sure there was no one in the street. However, the vehicle did not start right away and a resident assisted in pushing it. Imran allegedly packed the body with a large stone in order to drown it in the drain, according to the police.

Even after being apprehended, Imran and the driver, Mohd Rafeeq, claimed they had dumped the sack at different lakes at Borabanda, Moosapet. It was only later that they led the police to the spot. The water flow in the nala would have swept away the sack but the large stone that Imran had placed inside it anchored it to the spot.