Police combing operation revealed murder, three arrested

During a poll-eve combing operation in Vasai East, Pelhar police unearthed a murder that took place three years ago but had been considered an accidental death and had become a cold case file.
On Sunday, during their routine combing operations, the Pelhar police found an ax and two swords in the possession of a man at Dhanivbagh in Nalasopara East. During interrogation, he revealed that he had got the victim killed three years ago and planned yet another murder, but the contract killer engaged by him backed off.

The police arrested the accused, identified as Pokhan Saav (50), and booked him for possession of weapons and arrested two more his accomplices, Abdul Shah alias Badda (23) and Imran Siddiqui (28). During the interrogation, assistant police inspector Sopan Patil of Pelhar Police crime unit learned that Saav had got a man murdered in 2021. The body was disposed of near Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway. In 2021, the body was found in a decomposed state, after which the Virar police registered an accidental death report since there was no clue and no one had filed a missing person complaint.

Deputy commissioner of police Jayant Bajbale said that the accused Saav lived in Nalasopara and had in affair with a woman named Gulshan who was married to lawyer Akram Idrisi, 27. To get rid of her husband, Saav had paid ₹1 lakh to Abdul Shah alias Badda and Imran Siddiqui who kidnapped Idrisi and killed him.

After getting Idrisi murdered, Saav learned that Gulshan was not ready to marry him, as she had an affair with another man named Vikram Gupta, Bajbale said. Saav was angry with Gulshan and hatched a plan to kill both of them – Gulshan and Gupta, and paid ₹70,000 to the other accused for killing the two.

Jitendra Vankoti, senior police inspector of Pelhar police station, said that after Idrisi’s murder Gulshan fled to her village in Uttar Pradesh as she feared that she would be blamed for his death. After Gulshan’s disappearance, Saav’s associates apparently refused to kill Gupta and also refused to return the contract amount paid to them. Police said that when Gulshan was contacted, they learned that she had married some other person in UP.

The three arrested were produced before the court on Monday where they were remanded to police custody till April 10.