Disabled man robbed, killed at Naigaon, 21-year-old arrested

Inspector Rahul Ragh said, “Around 5 pm on Tuesday, local residents found a body near Star City at Naigaon (East). He was identified immediately, as we found a disability certificate in his pocket.” The police also found a piece of paper near the body containing the phone number of Tiwari’s brother.

“We came to know that Tiwari had reached Vasai early that day only. He was supposed to call his brother, who was to pick him up from Nalasopara railway station,” said Ragh.

The police registered a case on charges of murder and destruction of evidence and started off the probe by checking CCTV camera footages in the area.

“In the footage, we could see Jha talking to Tiwari… we started following Jha through CCTV cameras installed in the area,” said Ragh.

Jha was traced to his house at Ornate Galaxy in Naigaon (East). The police said he confessed to the crime during interrogation. “Jha only intended to rob him. After alighting a long distance train at Borivali station, Tiwari took a local train to Nalasopara. In the train, Tiwari gestured to Jha to help him call his brother,” said Ragh.

“But Jha, who was in urgent need of cash, believed that it would be easy to steal from Tiwari. He did not call the brother and told Tiwari that his brother’s phone was switched off. Jha then told him to come to his house and rest till his brother could be contacted.”

“Tiwari, who was supposed to get down at Nalasopara, got off at Naigaon station with the accused. Jha took him to an isolated location. As soon as he started checking his pockets, Tiwari fought back and Jha ended up smashing his head with a stone. Jha subsequently strangled his neck with a scarf,” said an officer.