Mumbai: On the run after allegedly murdering his three-year-old cousin and disposing of the body in a dustbin inside the lavatory of Kushinagar Express at Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT) in Kurla, 30-year-old Vikas Kumar Shah was arrested from Bandra-Kurla Complex by Surat Police late on Monday.After Akash alias Aarav Shah went missing from his Surat residence on Aug 21, his family filed a kidnap complaint against Vikas with the local police. Vikas had a spat with Akash’s mother, Durgavati, as she allegedly taunted him for being unemployed, said a police officer.Six teams from Mumbai’s Government Railway Police were hunting for Vikas besides the Surat Police. “Our investigation showed that after the murder Vikas had been moving around in Kurla, Dadar and Bandra areas. His last location was at Bandra-Kurla Complex. Our personnel hired two-wheelers and combed the area,” said a Surat police official.Vikas was found amid a crowd of labourers waiting near a bus stand.During questioning, Vikas told the police that he was looking for work in Mumbai.Vikas, who hails from Sivan in Bihar, had worked as a labourer in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait in the past. In April, he returned to India and has since been looking for work.Last week, Vikas, along with his mother Rabdi and sister, visited Akash’s family. He wanted to find work in Surat and live with Akash’s family long term. But Durgavati forbade him from doing so as her husband worked overseas. She allegedly taunted Vikas for his inability to find work and insisted he find a rented place for himself.On Aug 21, Vikas took Akash out on the pretext of playing with him and brought him to Surat station where CCTV cameras have captured the two. He then switched off his phone and travelled with the boy to Dadar in a long-distance train. Thereafter, the two took a local train to Kalyan station. There, they boarded Pawan Express and reached LTT around 1am on Aug 23. Vikas found an empty Kushinagar Express as all the passengers had disembarked. Police claimed he took Akash into the washroom where he used a blade to slit the child’s throat and then dumped the body in the dustbin and left. CCTV cameras at LTT captured him walking on a foot overbridge alone after the crime.“It is likely Akash had no inkling of the sinister plan. CCTV footage from Surat station show him playing with his older cousin,” said a police officer.
