Mumbai: 40-year-old murdered by daughter’s admirer

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Sewri police have nabbed a man accused of murdering a female victim and fleeing from the scene. The matter came to light on January 22 when an unidentified body was found near Bhaucha Dhakka; the police suspect the victim was killed a week before.

An FIR was registered on January 24 as the post-mortem reports stated that the woman died due to a head injury. The police has booked him under Section 302 (murder) and 209 (making false claims) of the IPC. "The body was completely decomposed; only the skull and her jewellery were intact. We put up posters to identify the victim and questioned nearby shopkeepers and around 200 women from the locality, in addition to checking missing records," said Port Zone DCP Sanjay Latkar.

Around eight teams were made to nab the accused. "When we showed a photo of her bangles in a slum near Mumbai Central Station, the victim was identified as 40-year-old Sapna Batam," DCP Latkar added.

Batam's daughter was called to identify her body. The police also scanned CCTV footage from 100 cameras to identify the accused. "He and the victim had entered Sewri on a bike. However, he left by himself an hour later and the lady was nowhere to be found," said an officer, pointing to the detail that raised the police's suspicion.

"Three years ago, Shezjada allegedly kidnapped the victim's minor daughter as he wanted to marry her; the victim was opposed to the match. He was arrested after the kidnapping, and in fit of rage, he may have murdered Sapna Batam. We are still investigating the motive behind the crime," an officer said.