The murderers of the Khar businessman, who was found lying in a pool of blood in his godown, are in the police net
The murderers of the Khar businessman, who was found lying in a pool of blood in his godown, are in the police net.
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Maheshchandra Indra Baafna (69), owner of Chaya mattress shop in Khar, had been found murdered in his godown. On Sunday, he had told his employees to close his shop and was rushing to meet a doctor in Jogeshwari. However, he never met the doctor or returned home. His family found his body lying in a pool of blood the next day.
From local shopkeepers and hawkers, Unit IX of Mumbai Crime Branch learnt that Baafna had met a tailor, Asif Istiyak Ali (20), who would take orders for stitching home furnishings, a few minutes before the murder.
Police found Ali had left for his hometown Aligarh, in UP.
“We intercepted Ali in Mathura, who told us he had met Najim Abid Khan (18), also a tailor in Khar,” said Dhananjay Kulkarni, DCP (Crime). Cops took Khan in, after which he confessed to the murder. He said he and Ali had plotted to rob Baafna, as they had seen him carry a lot of cash around.
They lured him to the godown and then attacked him with an ice pick to loot him. “However, Baafna bit Khan; so, out of anger, they strangulated the old man. The duo then ransacked the cash counter and took Rs 30,000 in cash and three mobile phones before fleeing,” said a police officer. Police have recovered two mobile phones and Rs 10,000 from Ali and one mobile phone and Rs 11,000 from Khan.