Thane cops solve 27-year-old murder case only to find accused dead

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Thane police in Maharashtra have cracked a 27-year-old case of the killing of a sub-inspector, only to find that the accused died seven years ago, an official said on Thursday.

On July 23, 1992, sub-inspector Mahendra Singh Patil, then attached to Mahatma Fule Chowk police station in Kalyan town, was stabbed to death by the accused, Iqbal alias Nanhe Khan, during a confrontation, crime branch's senior inspector Nitin Thakre said.

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After the killing, the accused, who was also wanted in connection with several robberies in the area, absconded and eluded the police for nearly three decades, he said. During a recent review of the unsolved cases, the crime branch of Thane police got information that Khan's whereabouts were last traced to Jasola village in Okhla area of Delhi.

Last week, a Thane police team went to Okhla to nab Khan, but got to know that he died of an ailment seven years ago, Thakre added.

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