Mumbai: Cop becomes watchman of housing society for 20 days to nab killer

Manish Singh, cops say, was involved in the murder of Manisha Koirala’s secretary Ajit Dewani

A man wanted by the police in Gujarat, UP and Maharashtra in a string of cases including murder and robbery was tracked down to Nalasopara East. To keep an eye on him, an officer from Ahmedabad Crime Branch took up the job of a watchman at the building where the accused was hiding. After 20 days, they nabbed the man with the help of local police.

The Gujarat police said the wanted man Manish Singh was living with his family in Rashmi Garden Society at Evershine City for the past 12 years. He worked for don Subhash Singh Thakur to commit murder, extortion and robbery, they said.

Egged on by the family of Singh, locals block a car carrying the accused in Nalasopara

After learning his whereabouts, one officer from Ahmedabad Crime Branch was sent to Mumbai to track Singh's movements. The officer became a watchman at the housing society. However, it was not an easy task as Singh mostly kept himself to the flat and rarely ventured out. Mahavir Singh Waghela, a head constable from Ahmedabad Crime Branch, said they started getting regular updates about Singh after planting the officer. "One of our officers worked as a watchman at the Nalasopara society for 20 days. Since Manish, alias Raju, alias Chotu would come out only on a few occasions, it took us more time to nab him."

Waghela said Singh had killed actor Manisha Koirala's secretary Ajit Dewani in June 2001 after taking a supari.

As the Ahmedabad police took Singh into their custody on September 26, they faced another daunting task. Singh's family kicked up a ruckus and got other society residents and locals to block the car that was carrying him. "Since the local residents protested against us, we took the help of Tulinj police to clear the crowd and managed to bring him to Gujarat," said Waghela.

Sept 26
When Singh was arrested from Nalasopara