4 months after Mazgaon woman’s murder, cops arrest fourth accused in case from Nepal border

According to the police, at least four people are believed to be involved in the murder of Gulshan Hashmat Khan, 53. She was found dead after allegedly falling from the 13th floor of her apartment on April 6.

Earlier, investigators had arrested her husband Shoheb Imtiyaz Khan, 27, his brother Zaid Khan, and one of his two drivers in connection with the case.

Shah, who was arrested on Tuesday, was also working as Shoheb’s driver. Officers said he was allegedly involved in the destruction of evidence after the murder and was hiding at his native place in Bihar’s Darbhanga. He had planned to head to Nepal, but following a tip-off, a police team nabbed Shah and brought him to Mumbai.

Sanjay Nale, Senior Inspector, Agripada police station, said, “Shoheb’s younger brother was also involved in the murder. A search is on to locate him.”

The police said that Gulshan was still married to her first husband, Hashmat Khan, 63, when she decided to wed her nephew Shoheb. She then started living with him at his flat in Mazgaon from 2022, along with her 17-year-old daughter.

Officers said that when Gulshan came to stay with Shoheb, she brought 650 grams of gold from her first husband Hashmat’s house. “Later, she told her neighbours and Hashmat that Shoheb was harassing her for money,” said Nale.

On the day she died, Gulshan allegedly fell from the 13th floor of their building around 5 am and was found in the duct area on the 9th floor, officers said.

Shoheb, however, claimed to the police that she had either jumped or fallen from the bathroom. Based on a statement from Gulshan’s first husband, Shoheb and the others were booked for abetment to suicide.

During the investigation, the police found blood stains on the door of a bathroom in the apartment as well as on the victim’s slippers, which were sent for forensic analysis. “There was also an injury on the back of her head. It appeared like she had been hit with a heavy object and was then pushed off,” a police officer said.

As part of the probe, doctors and other experts were taken to the crime scene and further examination pointed to circumstantial evidence which indicated Shoheb’s role in the murder. Based on the developments, the police added murder charges to the case in June.

“Shoheb was already under arrest for abetment of suicide and was in jail. So the police took him into custody in the second week of June. During further probe, his brother and one of the drivers were arrested for destroying evidence,” Nale said.