Blackmailed, lover and his friend kill Govandi woman

The empty building at Kurla West where the body was found. File Pic/Sameer Sayed Abedi

Police investigating the rape and murder of a 20-year-old Govandi woman, who was blackmailing her lover by claiming to be pregnant, have found that she did not have a uterus, making it impossible for her to conceive. Vinoba Bhave (VB) Nagar police had arrested her lover Reyan Sheikh and his friend Faisal Sheikh, both in their 20s. The probe has now revealed the involvement of a third accused.

The body was found from a vacant building in the HDIL compound, Kurla West, on November 25. The deceased lived close to Reyan's house, and had left home with him on November 23 saying she was going to her aunt's home. "Her mother used to work as a house help at Reyan's home. That's when they both became friends. According to the probe, they were seeing each other for a year or so. They used to meet secretly and their parents had no clue about their affair," an officer said.

Since the past couple of months, the woman had been telling Reyan that she was pregnant and that he should marry her, police said. Irritated and scared of what his parents would do if they found out about the pregnancy, Reyan asked his friends for advice. They told him to threaten her with harm and kill her if she did not listen.

Reyan decided to follow through with the suggestions. He took a SIM card from his friend (who is yet to be arrested), called her and asked to accompany him to Kurla. Once there, he took her to the HDIL compound in an auto. "The woman had no idea that Faisal was waiting there. Reyan took her to the terrace of the 13th floor, then to the lift room, where he overpowered her and slashed her neck," another officer said.

Faisal then came out of hiding and hit the woman on her head with a hammer, police said, adding that there were 26 injury marks on her body. After killing the woman, they returned the SIM card to their friend, and the trio decided to lie low for a week. Reyan, who had passed Std XII, had been in trouble with police before owing to his bad temper. Two months ago, he had a fight with someone at Govandi railway station and was booked and arrested. His father had taken away his mobile phone, but he was using his mother's or friends' phones to talk to his lover and friends.

Nov 25
Day the woman's body was found in Kurla