Mumbai: Crime branch suspects rape in MBBS student kidnapping case

The MBBS student (circled) is seen in a CCTV footage from Bandra station at 12.46 pm on November 29, 2021

Mumbai crime branch's Unit 09, which is probing the alleged kidnapping of a 22-year-old MBBS student in November 2021, suspects that the woman might have been raped before she was allegedly killed at Bandra Bandstand. One of the five witnesses reportedly told the cops about overhearing a conversation between the two arrested accused which involved unusual sex and the woman. Crime branch officers did not reveal any details.

The student went missing from Bandra Bandstand on November 29, 2021. Investigators arrested two accused - Mittu Singh and Abdul Jabbar Ansari - last week. Cops have not invoked charges of murder yet.

Suspicious activity

Sources in the crime branch said they have found five witnesses who claimed that the behaviour of the arrested accused was suspicious.

Also Read: Kidnap case: Cops ‘tortured and framed' duo trying to help

The rocks where she was seen the day she went missing. Pic/Atul Kamble

One of the witnesses told mid-day, "The police officers kept asking me if I had heard any talk about sex. They said that they suspect the woman was raped by the arrested accused and that there was some evidence too. Some people had overheard their conversation and noticed their suspicious behaviour that night, and flagged the same to the cops."

A crime branch officer said, "All angles are being probed. The fact is that she disappeared in a suspicious manner from Bandstand and she was last seen with the accused. Their activities are suspicious, which makes it clear that they did something wrong to her after kidnapping her."

It is pertinent to note that the crime branch had, on January 14 while seeking remand of Ansari, told the court that "both the accused used objectionable words for the girl on the phone, which shows their wrong intentions."

Mittu Singh and Abdul Jabbar (right), the two arrested accused in the case

The cops have also recorded statements of her family members and a friend to understand why she did not appear for her exams that day and went to Bandra Bandstand from Virar instead.

The woman's brother said, "Even we don't know why she didn't appear for her exams. Since the past 14 months, we, with the help of the police, have been trying to find what happened."

A crime branch officer said, "These [witness] statements are very crucial and at this stage we cannot reveal anything."

Accused was with her till 3 am

The cops have also collected CCTV footage of the area which confirmed that the student was at Bandra Bandstand on November 29, 2021. Crime branch officer said that they have studied the Internet Protocol Detail Record and call detail report of the woman and found that her number was switched off from 1.30 pm.

As per officers, she reached Bandstand at 1.09 pm and sat on the rocks on the seashore. The CCTV cameras on the road captured her roaming in the area. Around 10.30 pm, she went to Meeth's Kitchen, which is run by Singh and Ansari.

As per Singh's statement to the police, the woman spent some time at the shop and then went back to the shore, opposite Taj Lands End. Singh told cops that he sat with her till 3 am and even took a photo around 2.25 am.

Sources said that Singh is educated and had prepared to deal with the current situation. "The two accused are giving contradictory statements. Singh tried to create an alibi by sending a friend request to the woman on Instagram around 4.02 am. He even showed their selfie to cops to evade any suspicion on him," the officer said.

Police said that none of the CCTV cameras has caught her leaving the area, and said that if she had died by suicide then her body would have surfaced somewhere. "In the past year, we have searched each and every hospital and sent SOS to all over Maharashtra to report if any such body was found anywhere. But nothing has been noticed yet," the officer said.

29 Nov
Day in 2021 since when the student has been missing