Cops arrested accused Alam Khan and his aide Sikander, while the hunt is on for their accomplice Sheru.
On Wednesday, the Bangur Nagar police arrested the three accused for killing Khan. The main accused, identified as Alam Khan, an inveterate chain snatcher, was traced to Kolkata where he had fled to his relatives after he received a call from a Crime Branch constable calling him to the Branch's Unit 11 at Kandivli.
According to the Bangur Nagar police, they had contacted his kin in Kolkata as his last mobile location was traced beyond Pune towards Kolkata. Cops suspect Alam Khan must have been wiping off the victim's blood from his face after slaughtering him, giving the kid the impression that he was drinking blood. His accomplice Sikander smashed the man's face with a rock and then stabbed him. The boy stood there and watched the whole incident, his hands covering his mouth to stifle shrieks. The father and the two accused thought the boy wouldn't speak of the incident to anyone. The police reached the murder spot, Alam Khan's house. The Bangur Nagar police officers found Alam Khan's son there.
The boy was scared to talk in front of all the police officials, but later he relaxed and revealed to the cops that on the evening in question, he was playing outside his house and went in to get a drink of water when he saw his father kill a man.
"The kid also told us that he had seen his father and his two friends Sikander Khan and Sheru at his house killing the man," said the officer. "The kid's statement was recorded in front of the magistrate, as he is our only eyewitness. He saw the three commit the crime, and the whole case stands on this basis."
Revenge killing
The police found out that on the day of the murder, the victim, Ansari, had been invited to Khan's house for drinks, along with Sikander and Sheru, who are Ansari's wife Nagma's cousins. The cops also learned that Ansari had married Nagma and was having an affair with her daughter from a previous wedding, Chandni.
This was revealed by Nagma when the victim's family identified his body and told the police about her. Nagma had then told the police that her daughter had left for Hyderabad three days before the murder and her son-in-law, Alam Khan, might have killed her husband after learning of the affair.
The police have also arrested Sikander, who had grudges against the victim for marrying his cousin but having an affair with his niece. Sikander had also been slapped once by the victim during a fight over the issue.
"We have arrested the three and would present them before the court on Thursday," said Deputy Commissioner of Police Mahesh Patil (Zone XI).
October 6
The day on which Alam Ansari's body was found in a suitcase in Malad