The family of a 11-year boy who went missing on Tuesday afternoon were shocked to learn that his body was found under mysterious circumstances the next morning.

“He was fasting and he went to the masjid [mosque] for Asr prayers and Quran recitation and then went missing. Some neighbours saw him returning from the masjid but he never reached home,” the boy’s father told Gulf News on Thursday.

Despite an extensive search, Dr Majid Janjua, 38, could not find his son, Azan Majid Janjua, a fifth grader.

“I was shocked to know that AC technicians, who went to our building’s rooftop to check a malfunctioning chiller, found his body there around 10am [on Wednesday],” Dr Janjua said.

“His body was half-naked. His Quran was beside him,” he said.

Abu Dhabi Police were not immediately available for comment.

The family said the police are investigating the matter.

The boy, said the father, was very religious and eager to fast and pray regularly during Ramadan.

“He was keen to recite the Quran at the masjid and stayed back after the prayers,” Dr Janjua said.

Azan was a special child for Dr Janjua, a Pakistani national, due to many reasons. He was his first son born to his first wife, a Russian national, whom he met while studying medicine in Russia. As they did not live together for a while, Azan, who was also a Russian national, lived with his mother in Russia.

“As part of a mutual agreement with his mother, he started living with me around two-and-a-half years ago. His mother would visit him often; she was here for a visit on the day he went missing,” he explained.

Dr Janjua has been living in the same building for the past six years with his father, his second wife and two young children. “We had a nice time since Azan joined us. He liked his younger siblings,” he said, showing a WhatsApp picture of Azan.

“Since he came to stay with me, I taught him everything — religious practices and tips on how to protect himself,” he said.

Azan, said the father, did not have the habit of roaming around and was a disciplined boy. “He never went outside without our permission,” he said.

For Dr Janjua, the UAE has been like home as he was brought here as a small child. “My grandfather and father were living here. Soon after my birth in Pakistan, I was brought to the UAE,” Dr Janjua said.

When Gulf News visited the family on Thursday afternoon, the father and grandfather struggled to control their emotions as they received condolences from relatives and friends.

“It is fate; Allah’s decision. We have to accept it,” said Dr Janjua, who works with a medical insurance company in Abu Dhabi.

The happy moments spent with his son on that fateful day were still vivid in the father’s mind. “He woke up early and had suhour with us. We went for Fajr prayers at the masjid and he was in a very happy state of mind,” Dr Janjua said.

Source: gulfnews.com