Colaba police arrest shop owner for hiring men to kill brother

A 45-year-old shop owner in Mumbai has been arrested for allegedly hiring a hitman to kill his younger brother over financial disputes. The hitman subcontracted the job to two others, who attacked the younger brother with an iron rod. The police have arrested all individuals involved in the crime.

The Colaba police have arrested a 45-year-old electronics shop owner from Grant Road for allegedly giving out a contract to kill his younger brother on account of their financial disputes. The man who was hired, a notorious criminal from Nepal, sublet the job to two others.

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On July 31, Imran Yusuf Namakwala, 40, and his friend Tariq Aziz Vakil Ahmed were travelling to South Mumbai. “When they reached Jehangir Art Gallery, Namakwala decided to get down and check the air pressure in one of the vehicle’s tyres,” said Pravin Munde, deputy commissioner of police, Zone I. While he was doing so, two men came by on a bike and attacked him. The pillion rider hit him on his face, hands, legs and other body parts with an iron rod and then both fled on the bike.”

A bleeding Namakwala was rushed to hospital, and a case was registered under Sections 307 (attempt to murder), 326 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or means), 120B (conspiracy) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code. A team headed by senior inspector Vijay Hatiskar, comprising API Dnyaneshwar Khandekar and constables Hanumant Nalawade, Vijay Bhor, Asif Kazi and Sarjeerao Kamble, began their investigation into the assault.

“Through footage from the CCTVs covering the spot, the officers traced the first accused to Darukhana locality in Reay Road,” said a police officer. “He was subsequently identified as Islam Aslam Qureshi, 34. Qureshi, seeing the police team, tried to flee, but was chased for around a kilometre and nabbed.” Later, the cops also arrested his accomplice Salim Mansur Shaikh, 23.

“When the cops questioned the duo, they revealed that they had been asked by one Lokendra Uday Singh Rawat, 28, to carry out the attack,” said the police officer. Rawat goes by several aliases such as Lucky, Rocky, Sajjan Singh, Thapa and Nepali, and hails from Baitandi, Kathmandu, Nepal.

When the police officials enquired about Rawat, they learnt that he was a known contract killer. “He is wanted in the recent attack on Bharipa Bahujan Mahasangh leaders at Dadar East,” said the police officer. “He is wanted by four police stations and there are several non-bailable warrants pending against him. He has even carried out a political murder in Ambarnath.”

The police began searching for Rawat but learned that he did not have a fixed address in Mumbai which made arresting him difficult, as he used to flee to Nepal frequently. They did, however, manage to track him down to Virar, from where he was picked up.

“We learned that Rawat came out on parole during the pandemic and executed four major crimes after that,” said the police officer. “When he was interrogated, he told us that he was hired by Imran’s brother Irfan Yunus Namakwala, who paid him ₹2.5 lakh to attack Imran.”

The police said that both brothers and their families lived in one house in Nagpada. Irfan, the elder brother, had helped Imran in the past, and both of them ran an electronic shop at Lamington Road in Grant Road while getting separate orders. “When Imran’s business began to flourish, the elder brother was jealous, which also created financial disputes between the two,” said the police officer. “That was why Irfan hired a hitman to kill his brother.”