BREAKING: Crime branch makes first arrest in Vasai landslide case; builder held from Kandivli

Ajit Raisahab Singh alias Mantu Singh. Pic/Hanif Patel

A 35-year-old man was arrested by the crime branch late on Thursday night from Kandivli East in connection with the Vasai landslide incident in which two people died.

The accused, identified as Ajit Raisahab Singh alias Mantu Singh, owner of Mitwa Realty, is a resident of Vasai West. This is the first arrest in the case.

Mantu Singh was on the run after the landslide claimed two lives. The Assistant Municipal Commissioner (AMC) Neelam Gangadhar Nijai registered two FIRs in connection with the tragedy.

Also read: Mumbai rains: Two of a family of four die in Vasai landslide

One of the FIRs, in which Mantu Singh and land owner Mary Felix Gracias were held as the main accused, was transferred to Crime Branch Unit 2 headed by inspector Sahuraj Ranaware.

Sources in the crime branch told mid-day that Singh had first left for Vashi. "When (Mantu Singh) learnt that the relatives of the deceased were going to stage a protest before Tahsildar with the bodies, he got scared and left for Vashi," said an officer.

"Later, when he learnt that he had been named in an FIR and police were tracking his location, he switched off his cellphone and escaped to Kandivli on Thursday," the officer added.

"But, with the help of human intelligence and other technical help, we nailed him from Hanuman Nagar area of Kandivli East around 10:30pm and brought him to Vasai," the officer added.

Singh will be produced before the court on Friday.