Police are looking for Jamal’s alleged accomplice Sarfaraz Shaikh in the kidnap and murder case. Khar police said Khan, a student of Rizvi College and a resident of a posh locality in Khar (west), had left his house on Friday morning after informing parents that he was going to meet his childhood friend, Jamal (17), who had apparently promised to give him some notes for their HSC exams.

“Mukeem left around 9 am. Around 2 pm, Mukeem’s father, a garment trader, received a call from Mukeem’s cellphone. The caller told him Mukeem had been kidnapped for ransom. The family contacted us and we registered a case of kidnapping,” said PI (Crime) Khar police station, Baburao Mukhedkar.

The police got to know from Mukeem’s family that Mukeem had left the house to visit Jamal. “We questioned Mukeem’s friends but Jamal’s replies seemed vague. So we started tracking him. On Monday night, when we became certain Jamal and one Sarfaraz were responsible for the offence, we picked up Jamal from Khar. Sarfaraz is absconding. We are trying to trace him,” said Mukhedkar.

Around 1 am on Tuesday morning, the police received information about a body lying in a gutter in Kalina. It was found that of Mukeem. “He had been bludgeoned to death. A hammer is suspected to have been used. However, we did not find any weapon nearby. We have charged Jamal with kidnapping and murder,” said Mukhedkar.

Jamal has been remanded in police custody till March 2.