Solving Crime: How bloodied suitcase at railway station led police to unravel revenge murder of Mumbai man with speech and hearing impairment

The police immediately detained the man with the suitcase, identified as Jay Chawda, but were confronted with a new challenge: Chawda could not communicate with them, as he had hearing and speech impairment.

The railway police prompted their teams to search for someone who could communicate in sign language. Word of the need for a sign language specialist began to spread in the night and a Mumbai police constable, who was on bandobast duty, volunteered to help. His son also had a hearing and speech impairment, making him fluent in sign language. The constable’s son communicated with Chawda at the Government Railway Police (GRP) office in Dadar, where the mystery began to unravel.

Yadav approached the man to offer assistance but found the bag too difficult to move. Sensing something was amiss, he looked closely and spotted blood seeping from the suitcase.

“Chawda used sign language to explain the situation to the constable’s son. The son then communicated the information to his father, who passed it on to us. We learned that the murder took place in Chawda’s apartment at Chatriwala Mansion on Kika Street in Pydhonie and that another person had fled the scene,” said a GRP officer.

The police later found that the victim, identified as Arshad Ali Sadiq Ali Shaikh, also had hearing and speech impairment. The Dadar GRP registered a murder case against Chawda and handed over the investigation to the Pydhonie police station, where Inspector Nitin Pagar was assigned to crack the case. During the course of the inquiry, a second accused, Shivjeet Singh, was identified and arrested the next day from his house in Ulhasnagar.

Murder streamed to fellow conspirator in Belgium

Soon after the two accused were arrested, several people from a community of hearing- and speech-impaired people visited the police station and showed a few videos that had become viral within their chat groups. “At the time of the murder, Chawda had allegedly video-called a man based in Belgium, Jagpal Preet Kamal Singh, and showed him the killing. In the video, it was clearly seen that Shivjeet was brutally assaulting Shaikh inside a room, while Chawda indicated to Jagpal that they were murdering him,” said a police officer.

The police later learned that Jagpal had screen-recorded the video call and forwarded it to others in the community. As Chawda kept misleading his interrogators, the Pydhonie police reviewed his call history. It came to light that he had made a video call to Shaikh’s wife Ruksana on the night of August 4. It was later revealed that she allegedly was in an extramarital relationship with Chawda. As her role was identified, she was arrested later that week

“Our teams subsequently learned that Jagpal was the mastermind of the crime, as all the people involved in the case have hearing and speech impairment and belong to a close-knit community in which Jagpal has a huge following. Shaikh suddenly gained popularity within the community, and it sparked jealousy in Jagpal, who then devised a plan to eliminate him,” said an officer.

The police said Jagpal then communicated with Chawda, who further colluded with Shivjeet and called Shaikh to Chawda’s room in Pydhonie on the day of the murder. Chawda got a red trolley bag during the day and also brought liquor.

“He then served alcohol to both Shaikh and Shivjeet. Later, Chawda and Shivjeet brutally assaulted Shaikh, who died from multiple injuries. The duo wrapped his body in the bag, and Shivjeet left for his house in Ulhasnagar,” said an officer.

The police said Chawda had planned to dispose of the body by throwing it onto the tracks of a long-distance train. He initially went to the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) railway station in a taxi, but fearing that he would be caught due to the additional security there, he then went to Dadar railway station. The police said Chawda was about to board the Tutari Express when the constable intervened to help and was caught.

The police also learned that a couple of months before the murder, Chawda had molested a woman, which led to Shaikh stripping him naked and brutally assaulting him in public.

“We have concluded that Shaikh’s murder occurred for several reasons: Chawda sought revenge for the humiliation, Jagpal was jealous of his rising popularity, and Shaikh frequently assaulted his wife Ruksana at home, which she had confided in Chawda,” an officer said.

The police submitted a 423-page charge sheet against Chawda, Shivjeet, Ruksana, and Jagpal. While the three arrested accused are still lodged in jail, the police said that after issuing a lookout circular against Jagpal, the authorities in Belgium have detained him.