Mumbai: Two assailants hiding in a Juhu hotel for more than 20 days after killing a former district councillor’s husband in Bihar were arrested by the crime branch and produced in the Esplanade court on Sunday. The two gunmen were remanded to police custody till October 18.
The concerned police station in Bihar has also been informed and soon a team will arrive in the city to take custody of the accused, said deputy commissioner of police Balsing Rajput.
The arrested accused identified as Sanatkumar Singh alias Shubham Singh, 22, the main shooter and his associate Sonukumar Vinay Bharti alias Shubham Giri, 20, was an accomplice in the case.
After interrogating both the accused, it came to the fore that they along with others had killed Sujit Mehta when he was returning to his home on August 5 in Aurangabad city in Bihar. Three suspects including Sanatkumar alias Shubham Singh came on a bike and stopped Mehta who was with his friend Chandan. They fired seven rounds at Mehta who died on the spot while two bullets hit his friend Chandan who is alive, said a crime branch official.
A murder and attempt to murder case were registered by Mehta’s wife Suman in Amba police station in Aurangabad district in Bihar. The police later arrested five suspects within a few days while Sanatkumar and Sonukumar fled and stayed a few days in Delhi.
A month ago, both came to Mumbai and were staying at a hotel in Juhu. The Bihar police have informed several states and shared the details of the absconding accused. Based on the information the Mumbai crime branch was also looking for them and soon got specific information. A police team headed by police inspector Milind Kathe and assistant police inspector Prashant Sawant visited the hotel and once their identity was confirmed, they were brought to the unit office. During interrogation, the accused confessed to their role in the offence, said a crime branch official.
It was pre-planned and the accused even tried to kill them in January as well as in March during Holi but due to some reason, their plan failed and now this time they decided to eliminate Mehta. Sanatkumar’s distant relative Kunal Singh was killed many years ago of which Mehta was accused. It was learnt that Kunal’s family member gave a murder contract for ₹12 lakh and ₹2 lakh cash was paid to Sanatkumar in advance, said a crime branch official.
Even while absconding Sanatkumar had released a video on social media taking responsibility for Mehta’s murder and also warned that people involved in Kunal’s murder will be eliminated soon, added an official.
Sanatkumar had killed one of his neighbours when he was 17-year-old and after spending two years in jail he came on bail. Sujit Mehta had also been involved in several criminal cases and was considered one of the most powerful people in the vicinity.