Palghar, Maharashtra: The Crime Branch Unit–3 of the Mira-Bhayandar–Vasai-Virar (MBVV) Police has arrested an absconding couple accused in a murder case registered in 2009, successfully tracing them after 16 years.
Cold Case Linked to Nalasopara Police Station Revived
The case pertains to Nalasopara Police Station, registered under Sections 302 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code. The victim, estate agent Vinod Shankarlal Jaiswal (38), a resident of Mira Road East, was allegedly murdered following a dispute over brokerage money.
According to police, between April 29, 2009, at around 10 pm and May 2, 2009, the accused, along with two others, allegedly tied the victim’s hands and legs with a nylon rope and strangled him to death at Bilalpada in Nalasopara East. The offence was registered on May 2, 2009, at 9.35 pm.
Case Registered Days After the Crime
During the initial investigation, one accused was arrested and chargesheeted. However, the remaining accused had absconded and remained untraced for several years.
Following instructions from senior police officials to revisit serious pending cases, Crime Branch Unit–3 intensified efforts to trace the absconding accused. After sustained investigation and six months of focused follow-up, police apprehended the accused couple from Madhya Pradesh.
Accused Taken into Custody on December 17
The arrested accused have been identified as Dharmendra Ramashankar Soni (54) and his wife Kiran Dharmendra Soni (50), residents of Indore district, Madhya Pradesh. They were taken into custody on December 17, 2025, and later produced before the Nalasopara Police Station for further legal proceedings.
A Vasai court has remanded the accused to police custody till December 22, 2025.
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