Third suspect arrested in twin murder case

The probe had revealed that Broker wanted to sell his sea-facing property,Janaki Kutir,near Juhu (Mumbai) and had started meeting interested parties. After a joint investigation by the crime branch team led by senior inspector Bhanupratap Barge and the Koregaon Park police station team led by Inspector Shivaji Kamble,two real estate agents Ibrahim Ismail Shaikh (38) of Naupada and Ravindra Shankar Reddy of Khar in Mumbai were arrested.

The two had planned to fraudulently usurp Broker’s property with the help of an imposter,police said. On Sunday,the Mumbai Police Crime Branch arrested Nitin Dayabhai Bhatiya (51) of Vikhroli,who had driven the two to Pune and changed the number plate of the car used in the crime,and handed him over to the Pune police.

Barge said: “Shaikh and Nair had travelled to Broker’s home to talk about the deal. They told Broker that they had a property near Shirwal and wanted to show the place to him. On the way,they murdered the two.”

A Mumbai Police Crime Branch officer said Bhatia,who had worked for BEST for 15 years till 2007,took voluntary retirement and started working for Girikand Travels,a tour operator. Bhatia met Shaikh a month ago through a common contact,he said.

Shaikh allegedly offered to double Bhatia’s salary to drive him to Pune whenever he wanted to inspect a plot that he intended to buy. In the last one month,Bhatia drove Shaikh to Pune five times,the officer added.

(With inputs from Mumbai)