Mumbai: Group honey-traps man to avenge friend's murder

The five arrested people were taking Sadique in an Innova when they were intercepted by the police near Dahisar toll plaza on Saturday night

To avenge the murder of a young man, a group of five people tracked down his alleged killer and used a young woman to lure him to Mumbai. They managed to kidnap him and were planning to kill him when the police intercepted them and rescued the man. The group's seemingly foolproof plan was foiled following a tip by a caller who had seen the kidnapping.

The Aarey police said the 20-year-old victim, Mohammed Sadique, alias Mental, was accused of killing a 21-year-old man, Altaf, after his friends clashed with the '313 Group' from Malvani Ganesh Nagar last June. Sadique then fled to Delhi.

While there were cross-complaints and the police had arrested 10 people, Sadique continued to elude the cops. When there was no headway in the case after Altaf's family met the police chief, his family and friends decided to do their own investigation.

"The Malvani police had been accused of handling the murder case irresponsibly by ignoring the main accused and picking up those who did not have any direct role," said a police source. At the behest of Altaf's friends, a 19-year-old woman befriended Sadique on Instagram and told him that she was madly in love with him. Sadique quickly agreed when she told him that they should meet near 'Chhota Kashmir' at Aarey Colony.

Police sources said Sadique landed at Aarey Colony on Saturday and was told by the woman to walk towards an ambulance at Unit No. 32. When Sadique reached the spot, Altaf's friends bundled him into the ambulance. The group then shifted him to an Innova and headed towards Naigaon.

Alerted by Sadique's screaming, a person called the police. A team led by DS Swami, DCP of Zone XII, began working on the tip and the Innova was traced near Dahisar toll plaza at night.

Apart from rescuing Sadique, the police also arrested all five, - Mohammed Farooque Shaikh, 20, Owais Shaikh, 18, Amin Sayyed, 39, Nihal Khan, 32, and Satyam Pandey, 23. They face charges under IPC and Mumbai Police Act.