Mumbai, March 9: The Crime Branch has arrested one of the alleged main accused in the brutal murder of 35-year-old Shankarprasad Brahmadev Yadav alias Kalli in Bhandup West.
The accused, Akhtar Qureshi alias Chhotu, was apprehended from Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh after remaining on the run for over a month. A court has remanded him to police custody till March 12, a police officer said.
Victim stabbed multiple times in public
According to the FIR, Yadav, a resident of New Prakash Nagar in Sonapur, Bhandup West, was attacked by a group of assailants on the evening of January 25 at around 7.10 pm. The attackers allegedly stabbed him 29 times with sharp weapons in the middle of the road, leading to his death.
Several accused named in murder case
The Bhandup police had registered a murder case against Tasavvar Ali Anwar Ali Qureshi alias Lala, Armaan Malik Shaikh alias Aru, Zahid Shaikh alias Jabba, Pramod Kisan Warangne alias Pamya, Akhtar Qureshi alias Chhotu, Anwar Shaikh alias Photu, and Taufiq Qureshi alias Taka. The Crime Branch is continuing the investigation.
Within 12 hours of the murder, teams from the Crime Branch’s Unit 7 arrested three accused while the Bhandup police arrested three others. However, Chhotu Qureshi, the younger brother of Lala, had managed to escape, leading to questions being raised by locals over the progress of the investigation.
Accused traced to Uttar Pradesh
A team led by Police Inspector Atmaji Sawant of Crime Branch Unit 7 tracked Chhotu Qureshi for nearly 40 days before arresting him in Gorakhpur.
Sources said that he had been hiding in Kashmir for a few days during this period. The other accused arrested in connection with the crime are currently in judicial custody, an official said.
Dispute believed to have triggered the attack
As per the FIR, the dispute between Chhotu Qureshi and the victim began in April 2025 when an argument broke out after Qureshi allegedly burst firecrackers in a dangerous manner. Since then, he was reportedly looking for opportunities to confront Yadav and would deliberately drive vehicles loudly near his house.
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Police suspect that Qureshi was part of the conspiracy to provoke and attack the victim. The Crime Branch is currently interrogating him for further details in the case.
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