Colleague held over young girl's murder
Mariam worked as a beautician while Imran worked as a barber at the salon.
Mumbai: The Navi Mumbai police has arrested the man who allegedly killed Mariam Shaikh (22) by strangling her, then severing her head and packing her body parts in a suitcase only to dispose it at Palm Beach road, Vashi, Saturday night.
The accused, Imran Salmani (20), was infatuated with Mariam and after coming to know that her parents had arranged her marriage, was enraged and decided to kill her. Imran and Mariam were colleagues at a Vashi-based salon called “Graceful Hair Cutting Salon Parlor”. Mariam worked as a beautician while Imran worked as a barber at the salon.
According to police officials, the accused, who had come to Mumbai two years ago to earn his livelihood,severed the victim’s head as her entire body wasn’t fitting into the trolley bag that he eventually used to throw it into a swamp off Palm Beach road. A police officer said, “On Monday, after we found Mariam’s body, by evening, her parents identified it because of which we got details about her workplace. Our team went to the salon and checked the premises and CCTV footage when it was found that Imran stepped out and stepped in again with a big knife and a big suitcase, the same in which the girl’s body was found.” Imran was nabbed from Sanpada area. DCP Sudhakar Pathare said, “The accused confessed that he loved the victim but it was one-sided. On Saturday, he came to know about her engagement and asked her about the same. He said he was heartbroken and decided to kill Mariam.”
Another official said, “He asked Mariam to wait till 10 pm because he wanted to talk to her personally. She waited till 10pm. After the other employees went home, he strangulated her in one of the rooms of the salon. He then tried to stuff her body in his big suitcase but it would not fit so he cut her head and stuffed her head and the rest of her body separately. He carried her body on his two-wheeler.”
NRI coastal police has registered a case under sections 302 (punishment for murder) and 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence) against Imran.