Mumbai cops abandons man's death as accident, witness turns up screaming murder

Last week, the Aarey police found the body of an unknown person near the Film City area in Goregaon. Since there were no external injuries on the body and allegedly because the person reeked of alcohol, the cops deduced that he may have died due to asphyxiation following excessive alcohol consumption and filed an accidental death report in the matter. Much to the shock of the cops, a teenage girl visited the police station during the weekend and claimed the man was murdered.

Shama Shaikh and Riyaz Shaikh being escorted out of the court

The deceased has been identified as Shankar Harijan, 26, a unit worker at Film City. Speaking to mid-day, an officer said, "When we probed the teenager's allegations we found them to be true. We have boo­ked an Ambewadi couple, who have confessed to the crime."

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The accused have been identified as Riyaz Shaikh, 24, and his partner, Shama Shaikh, 25. "Both Riyaz and Harijan wor­ked at Film City. Harijan used to frequent the Ambewadi area to procure "tadi" or country liq­u­or. On Wednesday, when Harijan, a resident of Santosh Nagar, went to procure liquor, he allegedly harassed one of Sha­ma's relatives. The girl had approached Shama, who confronted Harijan on the road and slapped him. Soon after, Riyaz reached the spot and thras­hed Harijan, who was already in an inebriated state. Assuming Harijan had fainted, Riyaz carried his body 50 metres away from the clash site and dumped it near Film City," a cop said.

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According to police sources, Harijan's family didn't suspect any foul play as Harijan was known to be a severe alcoholic.

Riyaz and Shama were arres­ted on Sunday. On condition of anonymity, an officer said, "An FIR has been registered in the case and the couple has been booked under Sections 302 and 34 of the IPC for murder and common intent. They were produced in the court today and have been remanded in police custody till November 2."