Mumbai: Trio held for murder, dumping body in Mithi

The murder accused/ Sameer Markande

The Mumbai Crime Branch Unit 5 has arrested three people and solved the murder of a 23-year-old man whose body was found in Mithi River on January 5. The police said the trio strangled the victim with their bare hands and used an auto-rickshaw to move his body which was dumped in Mithi River at Kurla. The police said the main accused suspected that the deceased was having an affair with his wife and hence executed the murder with two other people.

According to the police, an accidental death report was registered at Kurla police station after the body was found on January 5. Meanwhile, the Mumbai crime branch started a parallel investigation into the matter.

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The crime branch officials first traced the deceased who was identified as Aman Shaikh, a resident of Shivaji Nagar in Govandi. Shaikh went missing on January 4 and his sister filed a missing complaint at Shivaji Nagar police station on January 6.

Raj Tilak Roshan, deputy commissioner of police, Mumbai Crime Branch said, "We have arrested three suspects and have seized one revolver, one pistol and two swords from them. They have a criminal background. The Kurla police have registered a murder case," Roshan said.

The three suspects have been identified as Nafees Khan, 36; Mukesh Pal, 25; and Mohammed Shakir, 23. "Khan is the main accused. He has six auto-rickshaws and would rent them out to drivers. Shaikh would rent an auto-rickshaw on a shift basis and visit Khan's house daily to pay his dues. Hence, Khan doubted that he was in an illicit relationship with his wife," Roshan said, adding that Khan has a criminal background with cases of theft, rape and assault against him. He had also been externed for three years.

According to a police officer, Khan also tried to hamper the investigation. "He first visited Shaikh's sister to inquire about him and the whereabouts of his auto-rickshaw. Later, demanded that he be paid rent for the auto-rickshaw, alleging that Shaikh had not paid him for the shift," the officer said, adding that Shaikh's brother-in-law managed to trace the auto-rickshaw and returned it to Khan.

The crime branch sleuths found Khan's behaviour suspicious, tracked his past movements and checked CCTV footage of areas he had visited. "We checked the CCTV footage from the area where the auto-rickshaw was found to Mithi River and saw Khan and Shaikh together. Also, the location of their mobile phones was traced to the same area on the day of the incident. We then arrested Khan and the other suspects," said an officer.

According to the police, in the wee hours of January 5, Khan called Shaikh to his place. He threatened Pal and Shakir - drivers renting his auto-rickshaws - and got them to come over. "Khan and Shaikh had a heated argument after which Shaikh tried to leave but Khan, Pal and Shakir held him down and strangulated him. They then disposed of his body. Khan claims this is his second marriage and Shaikh would frequently visit his house and chat with his wife. He stopped Shaikh several times but to no avail, which is why he killed him," an officer said. He added that Khan was not ready to reveal the truth so they interrogated the two other suspects who revealed what had happened.

January 5

Day body was found in Mithi River

QUOTE

‘We have arrested three suspects and have seized one revolver, one pistol and two swords from them. They have a criminal background'

Raj Tilak Roshan, DCP, Mumbai Crime Branch