Mumbai Crime: Man killed for trying to blackmail over mobile phone theft

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A man has been arrested for allegedly killing a friend as the latter tried to blackmail him over the theft of a mobile phone, city police said.

The incident took place at CPWD godown in Antop Hill area early Saturday morning, said a police official. The half-burnt body of Abdul Sayyad (29), who worked with a civil contractor, was found, and initially, it was suspected that he was a pavement dweller whose bed sheet caught fire accidentally when he was drunk. But CCTV footage of the area showed there was another person with him and autopsy showed that his head had been smashed. Following the questioning of Sayyad's employer, the man seen in the CCTV footage was identified as Ashkuddin Shaikh (27), a house painter.

He was arrested on board Mumbai-Howrah Gitanjali Express near Dadar station in Mumbai on Monday. During interrogation, Shaikh, a resident of Kismatnagar in Bangalpura, allegedly told police that he had stolen a mobile phone from Pune. Sayyad knew about it and demanded Rs 3,000 from Shaikh for not reporting the matter to police, the official said.

Shaikh managed to give him Rs 2,000, but Sayyad was demanding one thousand more, he said. On Saturday, Shaikh took Sayyad to the CPWD godown after they drank liquor together, and allegedly smashed his head with a stone and later set fire to the bed sheet and wrapped the body in it before fleeing. Further probe is on.

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