DNA

Mumbai, Aug 21: Adnan Patrawala, the 16-year-old boy from Oshiwara who was kidnapped on Saturday, was found strangulated on Palm Beach road near Sanpada on Monday evening.

The police suspect three youths who had known Patrawala, son of a businessman, to be involved in the crime.

A Rs 2 crore ransom was demanded of Patrawala's father, but the police feel that the youths panicked when the electronic media flashed news of the kidnapping. They then decided to kill him, said the police.

The police have arrested Sujit Nayyar, 27, Ayush Bhatt, 18, and Hitesh Ambavat, 19. Nayyar is a resident of Malwani, while the other two were from Kandivali and Malad respectively.

Patrawala left with his three friends on Saturday evening in his car never to return again. The car was found parked outside Nerul Railway Station. His body was found 500 feet away from the road. The body has been sent to Cooper Hospital for post-mortem.

“We have booked the three under various sections of the Indian Penal Code for kidnapping with murder for extortion," said deputy commissioner of police (DCP Zone IX), VK Choube.