As per Shaikh, ever since Mukeem’s father came to know about the kidnapping, his son had been with him, helping him trace Mukeem. “If he had been involved, why would he spend three days with Mukeem’s father, helping him? Besides, we were so fond of Mukeem that no one in my family has eaten properly since Friday,” he said.

Shaikh said that on Monday night, when his son did not return, he though it could be connected to the kidnapping. He rushed to the Khar police station to seek help in tracing his son. “At the police station, I saw my son being beaten by some policemen. He begged that I save him but I could not do anything. When I asked the cops why he had been picked up, they told me to ‘go away and let them do their work’,” said Shaikh.