Mumbai: The Borivali Railway Police have recovered the knife allegedly used to fatally stab 22-year-old Mayank Lohar inside a Mumbai local train, while a metropolitan magistrate on Tuesday remanded accused Roshan Suvarna, 30, to police custody until July 6.
The single-edged knife, with a 12cm maroon handle and a 17.5cm blade, was recovered near a hotel in Borivali West, where Suvarna allegedly discarded it after the June 23 stabbing. The police said he had obtained the knife around seven months ago and had carried it in his bag for four to five months.
Officials said Suvarna told them that after alighting at Borivali station, he fled towards the western side and threw away the weapon. The police examined CCTV footage along his escape route, alerted shopkeepers and conducted a panchnama at the spot identified by him.
The breakthrough came on June 29, when Girish Putran, manager of Suveg Restaurant, informed the police that his staff had found a knife. Employee Kundan Kumar had spotted it around 11.15pm on June 23 in Murda Galli near platform 2 while returning from shopping with two colleagues. He handed it to colleague Sagar, who kept it in a cardboard box in the restaurant’s staff room. After seeing news reports and reels about the stabbing, the staff suspected a link and informed their manager.
Police said Suvarna obtained the knife through his friend Tushar Sarvaiya, an Amazon godown worker in Mira-Bhayander. Sarvaiya allegedly took him to the warehouse, where Suvarna selected two knives – a smaller one for barcode work and a larger one that he retained without payment, claiming both were gifts. Sarvaiya’s statement has been recorded.
Suvarna claimed he forgot to remove the larger knife from his bag, but police suspect he deliberately carried it, possibly for self-protection. They are probing whether it was used in any previous offence, examining his call detail records for possible criminal links, and will send the weapon for forensic examination.
Advocate Prince Upadhyay, appearing for Lohar’s family, sought a thorough probe into why Suvarna carried the knife for months and whether friends were involved. Advocate Jaywant Patil opposed custody, arguing the weapon and CCTV footage were already available.
Lohar’s mother and sister broke down during the remand hearing and sought justice.
Meanwhile, the investigating officer has changed, as senior police inspector Datta Khuperkar has been transferred to the Kurla GRP as part of the regular transfer process. The new senior police inspector of the Borivali Railway police station, Pandarinath Kande, has now taken over as the investigating officer.
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