SUKKUR: The mystery of a nine-year-old boy`s disappearance and murder was resolved when a police investigation team found a clue that led to the arrest of his father on Sunday.

The boy, Mairaj, had gone missing while visiting the shrine of Ubhan Shah, located within the limits of Khairpur`s Sorah police station, along with his father Saddam Bhangar, on July 18. The missing report was lodged by his mother at the Faiz Mohammad Bhando police station when her husband, Saddam, returned from the shrine and told her that Mairaj had lost in crowd at the shrine and could not be found after hectic search mounted by him.

In the meantime, the body of an unknown young boy (who later turned out to be Miaraj`s) was found by the Sorah police, who had started working on the matter.

Khairpur SSP Zubair Nazir Ahmed Shaikh, observing that no progress was being made in the investigation since July 18, formed a team comprising Sorah SHO Manshad Ali Kalwar and Faiz Mohammad Bhando SHO Sibghatullah Jatoi to hunt down the killer.

The team found that the faces of the deceased boy and Mairaj were the same. It then recorded statements of his parents and came to know that the couple had been living a tense life and maintaining strained relations over many domestic issues. The SHOs subjected Saddam Bhangar to intense interrogation during which he broke and confessed to have throttled his son to death, according to the police investigators.

The police recovered the piece of clothe used in the murder and arrested Saddam.