Mumbai: Within 24 hours of the murder of an 85-year-old doctor, the Santacruz police have arrested Krishna Manbahadur Periyar, who worked as a caretaker for the victim, Dr Murlidhar Purushottam Naik.
A Nepali citizen, Periyar was held from Ahmedabad just in the nick of time as he was about to flee to his home country. It has come to fore that the suspect planned to kill the victim's wife, Usha Naik, but couldn't kill her as she was sleeping in a locked room. Periyar wanted to loot the jewellery worn by the elderly woman. Probe revealed that he already has a case of robbery against him, said the police.
Manhunt launched
On Monday, Usha discovered the body of her husband, with his hands and feet tied and handkerchief stuffed in his mouth. A manhunt was launched for untraceable Periyar and deputy commissioner of police Krishnakant Upadhyay formed 10 teams, including crime branch personnel, to nab the suspect. The probe was led by Inspector Amar Patil.
After allegedly killing the doctor, Periyar left the house at 7am and boarded a local train from Santacruz station. From Borivali, he took the Saurashtra Express and reached the Ahmedabad railway station where he was caught by the railway police. According to the crime branch team, he was preparing to flee to Nepal. A police officer told that there is a direct bus from Ahmedabad to Nepal.
Railway police nabs Periyar
His escape bid was foiled as the Borivali railway police had spotted him in the camera while boarding the Saurashtra Express. The crime branch immediately shared his picture with the Ahmedabad railway police who succeeded in nabbing him.
According to the police, Periyar had fraudulently got an Aadhaar card made by claiming to be of Indian origin. He mentioned the address of his relatives living in Bengaluru on Aadhaar. Based on the fake identity proof, he got a job through a Health Care at Home Pvt Ltd, an agency which provides caretakers. The police are mulling action against the agency as well.
The agency employed Periyar at the victim's home as the previous caretaker was on leave for his marriage. The was working with the couple since May 1.
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