Mumbai: Man held for helping brother kill wife, dump headless body

Saniya Shaikh and husband Asif, arrested for her murder last year

The Vasai police on Saturday arrested one more accused in the murder case of a 23-year-old woman, Saniya Shaikh, whose headless body was found at Bhuigaon creek in July last year.

At the time, her husband Asif Shaikh had been arrested for killing and dumping her headless body in the creek. On Saturday, the police arrested Asif's brother Yusuf Shaikh, who allegedly helped the accused destroy evidence. "Yusuf packed the headless body of Saniya in a suitcase, and used his tourist vehicle to dump it in Bhuigaon beach," Kalyan Karpe, senior inspector of Vasai Police station told mid-day, adding, "We are now trying to locate Saniya's severed head."

The police will be sending skulls they have retrieved in the past to laboratories to check for a match. Sources said that the police is investigating possible links with the skull and bones found at Bena beach in January this year.

Accused Yusuf Shaikh seen at the Vasai police station. Pics/Hanif Patel

The incident dates back to July last year, when Asif had killed his wife on the occasion of Bakra Eid. The couple had an arranged marriage in 2017, and were living in a 2BHK home in Nalasopara West, along with their daughter, Asif's parents and his brother Yusuf. Speaking with mid-day, Saniya's uncle Zahoor Mokashi said, "After marriage, Shaikh's family started harassing her, and started demanding money and her property from her relatives."

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The family last spoke to Saniya on July 8, 2021. When they were unable to get in touch with her, Mokashi and a few other relatives came to Mumbai, only to learn that the Shaikhs had sold their flat in Nalasopara and shifted to Chembur. A missing persons complaint was filed. Asif was arrested after the police retrieved her headless body and did a DNA test.