03 February,2024 08:50 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Representational Pic/File
Mumbai Police have arrested a man in connection with the death of a 40-year-old homeless woman, whose body was found on the roadside in Sewri last month, an official said on Saturday, reported the PTI.
According to the PTI, the police on Friday arrested Shehzada alias Ramzan Sheikh (37), a contractual employee of the Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), for the murder of Sapna Satish Batham, the official said.
A woman's partially decomposed body was found in the bushes on the roadside in Sewree on January 22, following which a probe was initiated, he said.
The police examined missing persons' reports and CCTV footage from the area to ascertain the identity of the victim, the official said.
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In a CCTV footage, a couple was seen arriving at the spot in a scooter and entering the bushes. Based on the vehicle's licence plate number, the police zeroed in on the accused and established the victim's identity, he said.
The victim was homeless and lived on the streets in Mumbai Central. Sheikh used to frequent the locality, and on January 14, he allegedly lured her with the promise of buying her alcohol and took her to Sewree, the official said.
When the victim refused to give in to his demand for sex, the accused bludgeoned her to death with a stone and killed her on the spot, he said.
The accused and the victim knew each other and he was arrested in 2018 for allegedly kidnapping her daughter, the official said, as per the news agency.
Meanwhile, two persons were arrested allegedly with mephedrone worth Rs 2.04 crore in Versova in Andheri West, a Mumbai Crime Branch official said on Saturday, reported the PTI.
He identified the two as Mahendra Chandra Singh (40) and Sayed Murtuza Fahmi (37).
"Singh works as a delivery man in a catering firm. He was checked by Mumbai Crime Branch officials on Friday on suspicion and 1.02 kilogram of mephedrone worth Rs 2.04 crore was found with him. He said he was to deliver the consignment to Sayed," the official said.
Sayed's brother has also been arrested earlier in a case being probed by the Narcotics Control Bureau, the official said.
Two Nigerians were arrested by Mumbai police's Anti Narcotics Cell from Aarey area of Goregaon with mephedrone worth Rs 17.40 lakh.
They allegedly supplied drugs in Vasai, Virar and Nalasopara areas of neighbouring Palghar district, an official said, the PTI reported.
(with PTI inputs)
