Two arrested for man’s murder in Mira Road

An officer said, “On January 1, Alam allegedly threatened a pregnant woman who runs a stall in Mira Road. He demanded Rs 15,000 as protection money, but after she refused, he allegedly brutally assaulted her.”

The woman lodged a complaint with the police, following which a case of extortion and assault was registered.

However, during the incident, the deceased, identified as Shams Tabrez Ansari alias Sonu (32), who also runs a stall in Mira Road, was at the scene. He witnessed the entire incident and was an eyewitness to the case.

Subsequently, on January 2, Alam and his brother Khan, along with two others, took Ansari to a bar in Mira Road and threatened him to stop testifying against them in court.

“It appears that they asked him not to depose, but when he refused, they threatened to kill him,” an officer said.

On January 3, while Ansari was near his stall chatting with another shopkeeper at around 9.15pm, an unidentified person allegedly approached and shot him point-blank in the temple before escaping.

He was rushed to the hospital, where Ansari was declared dead before admission. The local police were then informed, and a case of murder was registered.

In pursuit of leads, the police station was scrutinising CCTV footage when they learned that the accused had escaped to Mira Road station and boarded a northbound train.

“As we continued tracking their movements, we discovered that the shooter had visited Khan at his residence in Nalasopara before escaping. The shooter left after handing over the weapon. We then took Khan into custody, and during his interrogation, he confessed to the crime and revealed the role of his accomplice, Alam,” said an officer.

The two accused were arrested and produced before court. They were remanded in police custody.

“We have learned that another person is involved, and he was tasked with keeping an eye on the spot. We are trying to trace the shooter and his accomplice,” an officer added.