Mumbai: Accused booked under Atrocities Act in Uran Murder Case

Accused Dawood Shaikh (centre) was arrested from Kalaburgi district in Karnataka

Police have added charges under the SC/ST Atrocities Act against the accused who allegedly murdered a woman in Navi Mumbai's Uran area, reported PTI citing officials on Wednesday.

The accused identified as Dawood Shaikh, was apprehended from Shahapur area of Gulbarga in neighbouring Karnataka on Tuesday morning. After being brought to Navi Mumbai on Tuesday, he has been kept in police custody in Belapur.

"He was brought to Navi Mumbai on Tuesday night following his arrest in Karnataka. He is presently in the custody of police in Belapur (in Navi Mumbai)," a senior police official told PTI.

The accused will be presented in a court later in the day, he said.

"The police have now added charges under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act in the case of murder filed against Shaikh," another police official said, as per the PTI report.

The woman's body was found outside Uran railway station in the wee hours of Saturday after her parents filed a missing persons report on July 25. She was identified as Yashashree Shinde, an Uran resident who worked at a private firm. The autopsy report confirmed that the victim died of multiple stab wounds, reported PTI.

After a case under section 103 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) was registered against an unidentified person, eight teams were formed to trace the accused. Several suspects were detained by the police whose information led them to Shaikh.

Police sources said the accused Dawood Sheikh was arrested on Tuesday by police from Kalaburgi district's Shahpur.

As per the PTI report, the accused had lived in Uran for some time but went to Karnataka after the victim's father lodged a police complaint against him, and a case under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act was registered against him in 2019.

The victim was in touch with the accused who worked as a driver in the neighbouring state, said the PTI report citing the police.

As per the PTI report, the heated argument between the two may triggered the killing, but the exact motive behind the crime is being probed.