Mira-Bhayandar: Nearly seven years after he murdered a man in Mira Road, the prime accused in the case – Shahnawaz Ayaz Khan alias Shanu Kalia – was finally arrested by the crime branch unit (Zone I) attached to the Mira Bhayandar-Vasai Virar (MBVV) police on Tuesday. Mr Khan was apprehended from Kamrauli village in Amethi district of Uttar Pradesh (UP), in a joint operation by the MBVV police and their special task force (STF) counterparts in Lucknow.
According to the police, the body of Rais Anwar Hussain alias Roshan was recovered from a pavement near the sewage treatment plant in the Naya Nagar area of Mira Road on July 9, 2016. A resident of Mira Road, Mr Hussain was in his mid-20's and worked at a shopping mall. The murder was suspected to be the fall out of a brawl during a birthday party in Mira Road.
Prima facie investigations revealed the involvement of four people including Mr Khan and his accomplices Sohail Shaikh and Ali Irshad Shaikh alias Naushad. While Mr Sohail and Mr Naushad were arrested and serving life sentences after being convicted for the crime, Mr Khan had managed to evade the police dragnet for nearly seven years. Meanwhile, the fourth accused is still absconding.
Acting on a tip-off about Mr Khan's presence in UP, the MBVV team established contact with the STF and managed to apprehend him. Posing as locals, the team had to camp in remote villages for nearly two weeks before they got a lead about Mr Khan's arrival in Amethi. The accused, who is a native of Bahbal Ka Purwa village in Mahauna Paschim, worked as a property dealer and was frequently changing his location to dodge the police.
An offence under sections 302 and 201 of the Indian Penal Code has been registered at the Naya Nagar police station. Further investigations are underway.
