Man wanted in murder case held after 12 years

Mumbai: The Thane police have made the first breakthrough in a murder case 12 years after it was registered and arrested the main accused, now 62-year-old, from Madhya Pradesh. The police said that the accused along with three of his accomplices had strangled to death a 27-year-old man in Dombivali for duping them to the tune of several lakhs of rupees by promising jobs overseas. Three other accused in the case are still at large.

The officers of Thane crime branch said that the murder had taken place in Dombivali west, in the jurisdiction of Vishnu-nagar police station in March 2007. The police said that the accused had murdered Shailendersinh Shekhawat, 27, and later disposed off his body in an open drain in a bid to destroy evidence.

Narendrasinh Rajawat, Pintosinh Rajawat, Rajkumar Rajawat and Rishi Daag who allegedly strangled Shekhawat to death were named in the FIR. The officials said that after the murder, the accused were on the run and were never arrested. The police had filed the chargesheet before the court as per the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC). The court had declared the accused proclaimed absconders.

The crime branch team tracked down one of the accused, Rajkumar Rajawat, in his home town Mehandawa in Bind district of Madhya Pradesh earlier this month, said DCP, crime, Deepak Deoraj.

“The Unit I of the crime branch received information on Rajkumar that he was visiting his native in MP. The information was verified and the police laid a trap and apprehended him from Varaha village in Bhind,” said Mr Deoraj.

The officials crosschecked his antecedents and placed him under arrest. The police are now questioning him to ascertain the whereabouts of the remaining accused.