Mumbai: Less than 12 hours after they recovered the badly disfigured body of an 18-year-old youth from a rural area in Bhiwandi, the local crime branch (LCB) unit of Thane (rural) police in association with their local counterparts apprehended a friend of the deceased for his alleged involvement in the murder on Sunday.
According to the police, the crime was the fallout of a fight between the duo over a debt settlement amounting Rs 20,000. The body with multiple injury marks was recovered near a pipeline in Pogaon village area of Bhiwandi on Saturday night.
Sensing the seriousness of the case, SP Dr Shivaji Rathod deputed the LCB team to conduct a parallel probe. Based on a specific tip-off, the police nabbed the accused, Shahbaz Ansari (21). Investigations revealed that Ansari was asking the deceased to repay Rs 20,000 he had lent him last month.
A heated exchange of words over the issue took a violent turn, when Ansari attacked his friend with a knife and smashed his head with a stone. “ A case under section 302 and 201 of IPC has been registered against Ansari. He has been remanded in custody till April 24,” said Senior Police Inspector Vyenkat Andhale.