Teen killed and buried in shop

Bhiwandi: In a chilling incident reminiscent of a plot from a crime thriller, a 17-year-old boy named Shoaib Sheikh was murdered in Bhiwandi, Maharashtra, with his body buried in a grocery store. The accused, Gulam Rabbani, a local cleric, was arrested in Uttarakhand after a two-year manhunt. The police investigation revealed that the motive behind the murder was to silence Shoaib, who had witnessed inappropriate behavior between the accused and a minor working in his store.

Shoaib Sheikh, the only son of his parents and brother to seven sisters, went missing on November 20, 2020. His family reported his disappearance to the police, leading to an abduction case being filed. The investigation took a turn when local residents suspected Gulam Rabbani, who worked as a cleric and ran a grocery store in the same neighborhood.

After two years of searching, police received a tip-off about Rabbani's whereabouts in Uttarakhand. He had reportedly threatened a local resident, boasting about burying bodies in the ground. This led to his arrest by the Thane Crime Branch, who had been tracking him since he fled during a police inquiry in 2023.

Upon interrogation, Rabbani confessed to killing Shoaib, revealing that he had dismembered parts of the body and discarded them in a nearby garbage dump while burying the head and other remains in his store. The police, with the help of local authorities, excavated the remains, which were subsequently sent for forensic analysis.

Rabbani had been engaging in inappropriate conduct with a minor who worked in his store, and Shoaib had witnessed this. To prevent any exposure, Rabbani lured Shoaib to his store and killed him.

Rabbani told Shoaib's family he could help find their missing son through his supposed mystical powers. He even extorted money from them under the pretense of needing funds for a trip to Ajmer to perform rituals. Shoaib's family, devastated by the loss, is demanding the harshest punishment for Rabbani.