Petty fight over Rs 300 ends in electrician's murder at Mira Road

Police traced the accused based on the information provided by deceased's sister

A petty fight over '300 had led two friends to kill a 40-year-old electrician and dump his body in a drain at Mira Road on July 14. However, after the police recovered the decomposed body and found the visiting card of a contractor from his pocket on July 30, they managed to nab the culprits in less than a week. The Mira Road police have registered a case and are further investigating the matter.

Sister provides information
According to police, the accused, who were the deceased's friends, have been identified as Sikandar Shaikh, 38, a plumber by profession and Mohammed Mulla alias Subhan, 35, both residents of Mira road. The cops traced them based on information provided by deceased Iqbal alias Yunus Shaikh's sister Nilofar Tehsildar.

Also read - Mumbai Crime: Petty quarrel turns violent; leads to man killing co-worker

Speaking to mid-day, Abhijeet Tailor, sub-inspector, LCB, Thane rural police, said, "The body was found in a completely decomposed condition. The only thing that we could make out was his clothes. Luckily we found the visiting card of a contractor from his pocket. Presuming that he was a labourer, we started enquiring about him and later found out that he was an electrician by profession." When the police traced Iqbal's sister, they got to know that he was missing since July 14 and usually worked with Sikandar and Subhan.

Head and face smashed
"After Iqbal's sister provided us the information, we first detained Sikandar, who confessed to the crime during interrogation. He claimed to have killed Iqbal with Subhan's help. The incident took place after a party when all of them were drunk. They smashed Iqbal's head and face with a stone and later dumped his body in the drain. A case has been registered at the Mira road police station under sections 302, 201 and 34 of IPC," said Pramod Badakh, assistant police inspector, LCB, Thane rural.

Also read - Mumbai Crime: Youth murders roommate for using his mobile phone charger

During interrogation, the accused said that they were working together for the past three years. "For every work, Iqbal used to charge '300, while the accused charged '500. This helped Iqbal get more work but often led to fights between the three of them. On the night of July 14, after Iqbal spent his day's earnings ('300) having alcohol, he asked for an additional '300 from Subhan. However, Subhan, who earned '500 that day, refused to give him money, as he needed the cash for buying medicines, milk and food for his children. This led to a fight between them and in a fit of rage, the accused hit Iqbal multiple times with a stone. When he died on the spot, they dumped his body in the drain and closed the lid," said Tailor.

Read: Genitals chopped off, private parts mutilated: 10 gruesome crime cases