MUMBAI, Mar 4:
A man has been arrested from Rajouri for the alleged murder of a 74-year-old woman at a housing society in Jogeshwari, a western suburb of the city last month, where he worked as a watchman-cum-helper, police said today.
The accused, identified as Mohammad Raki alias Rafi Chaudhary (28), was arrested yesterday by Oshiwara police from Darhal in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir for the February 11 murder, they said.
The victim, Mumtaz Badshah, was killed using a kitchen knife at her residence in D wing building of Rizwan Apartment in Jogeshwari (W). She used to stay alone there, while her children reside in other parts of the city.
According to police, the accused wanted to retain his job in the society after some of its office-bearers had threatened to terminate his services for not doing “satisfactory” work. Chaudhary planned the crime in such a way that a newly hired watchman of the society would come under the investigators’ scanner.
“A week before the murder, the society had hired a new watchman and Chaudhary had been told by the committee members that since his work was not satisfactory, he would be fired,” a senior police officer said.
Chaudhary, who had been working in the society for the past two years and whose father was also employed there for several years, hatched a murder plan so that the new watchman goes behind bars and he would continue with his job there.
“One of Chaudhary’s daily task in the building was to go to the terrace and turn the water tank’s knob on/off. But as part of the conspiracy, on February 11, he asked the new watchman to do this particular task for him. Chaudhary’s plan was that the watchman could easily be implicated in the case and the needle of suspicion would turn to the latter, as he was captured in the CCTV going upstairs,” the officer said.
During the investigation, police interrogated a number of people in the case. But when Chaudhary came to know that the new watchman had named him, he fled to Kashmir fearing arrest.
However, Oshiwara police got to know that Chaudhary was hiding in J&K and a police team went there and arrested him.
After a thorough interrogation, the accused confessed to his crime, police said.
The accused was produced in a court here today, which remanded him in police custody.
Further investigation into the case is on, police added. (PTI)
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