A 21-year-old student pursuing his CA articleship is battling for his life in Sion Hospital’s intensive care unit (ICU) after being allegedly abducted and brutally assaulted by three men over Rs 10,000. The youth, a resident of Sion, was initially rushed to the hospital’s emergency ward in critical condition with head injuries, bruises on his face, and swelling on his back. Doctors later confirmed that he is currently out of danger but has a fracture under his eye.
According to the police, the student was returning home from a Ganeshotsav event around 2.30 am on Saturday, September 6, when he was stopped by a man named Prasad Sakpal, who had been pressuring him for months to pay a so-called “settlement fee” linked to an old quarrel. Sakpal, along with two unidentified accomplices, allegedly forced him onto a scooter, took him to Wadala’s Bhim Nagar area, where they beat him with a wooden stick before extorting Rs 10,000 through online transfers.
The victim’s father, a tempo driver, broke down while speaking to mid-day, “I am not thinking about what the police are doing. I am only thankful my son is alive,” he said in tears. When asked whether he knew the accused, he replied, “I don’t know.” I became aware of the entire incident when I got to know about my son’s condition at the hospital. I go to work early in the morning at 4 and return home late. All I did was work so my family gets food and shelter.”
Talking about his son, the father said, “He always wanted to be a chartered accountant. Since he was in Std XII, that was his dream, which he kept telling us (family). He gave two attempts but did not clear; now he is doing his articleship and hoping to clear the exam and become a CA. But now, he is lying in the ICU, helplessly.”
Wiping his tears off, he once again repeated, “I am thankful he is alive. We did not lose our son; that’s all that matters. I believe the police will do what’s needed, but I don’t have the time or bandwidth to go check on them for an update.”
Sion police have registered a case of kidnapping, extortion, assault, and intimidation under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. After the FIR was registered, the police on Monday arrested Prasad Sakpal from his residence in Sundar Kamla Nagar in Matunga East. A Sion police officer confirmed that Sakpal is currently in police custody and cops are on the lookout for the two other unknown accused.
2.30 AM
Time assault took place on Sept 6
