Hit by a heavy stone, Sameer has suffered nearly 80 per cent facial injuries that have not only stunned his family and relatives but also the doctors attending to him in the intensive care unit.

``Due to his critical condition, Sameer has still not been able to give a statement to the police, but Saki Naka police have already arrested Rakesh Jha, who had kidnapped my son from the building compound on Saturday night to demand ransom from us,'' said the victim's father, Kamar Z Jamlaney.

Jha, a 22-year-old engineering student stays in the same building in the flat above the Jamlaneys in Bhavani Nagar, Marol. Driven by a desire to get quick and easy money, Jha had hatched a half-baked plan to kidnap Sameer from the building on Saturday night and later demand ransom from the family.

``Though he is still incoma, Sameer suddenly wakes up and cries out Jha's name before again slipping back into semi-consiousness. We are shocked how anyone could batter a young boy so badly for a little sum of money,'' Kamar Jamlaney added. The victim's mother is too shaken to even talk about the incident.

According to Sameer's elder brother, Nadeem, the usual hour for him to return home was 9 pm. ``But on Saturday, Sameer did not come home at all. We were worried and started looking for him all over the place and even lodged missing complaints at Andheri, MIDC and Saki Naka police stations. Surprisingly, Jha tried to act innocent by joining us in our search, after brutally beating up Sameer behind a church at Marol,'' said Nadeem.

Since all the family members were running from pillar to post in search of Sameer the whole night, Jha could not make the ransom call and finally panicked. On Sunday morning, a tired and worn-out Nadeem discovered his brother lying on the road near the public garden at Bhavani Nagar. ``His face wasso swollen and caked with blood that even I could not recognise him at first sight. We immediately took him to the hospital,'' Nadeem said.

The medical report says Sameer has suffered multiple fractures on his cheek bones and jaw, and many of his teeth have been knocked out. His nose bone has also been completely smashed, and he had to undergo a four-hour-long operation. ``The doctors say the swelling may reduce in the next 24 hours and have even refused permission to photograph Sameer as they say the flash bulbs can worsen his facial injuries. At this point the surgeon is not sure if Sameer's eyesight has also been affected, but there was a lot of bleeding from his left eye,'' said the victim's first cousin, Parvez Khan. He added there was no previous enmity between Sameer and Jha, who most probably is also addicted to drugs.

However, police are not yet sure if Jha is a junkie. ``The culprit was studying engineering in Aurangabad and used to receive a monthly allowance of Rs 2,000 from his father. But hewanted a little more money, around Rs 15,000, which is why he tried to hold the Jamnaleys to ransom,'' senior police inspector of Saki Naka police station, L D Tompe, informed.

Jha has been arrested under Section 326 of the Indian Penal Code for causing grievous injury.