Jodhpur murder case’s main accused arrested from Mumbai Central

Jodhpur police arrested Ghulamuddin Farooqui in Mumbai for the brutal murder of beautician Anita Chaudhary, sparking public outrage and protests.

Mumbai: In a late-night operation on Thursday, the Jodhpur police, with help from the Mumbai police, arrested the main suspect in the brutal murder of a 50-year-old beauty parlour owner late last month. The suspect, Ghulamuddin Farooqui, had been hiding in Mumbai for the past 10 days and was finally tracked down near the Maratha Mandir cinema hall in Mumbai Central, according to police officers.

Jodhpur murder case’s main accused arrested from Mumbai Central

The police will now transport Farooqui back to Jodhpur, where he will be thoroughly interrogated to determine the motive behind the murder and clarify the roles of other potential suspects, officers said.

According to the police, Anita Chaudhary, a 50-year-old beautician based in Jodhpur, went missing on October 27. She was last seen around 2:30 pm, leaving her beauty parlour and boarding an auto-rickshaw before meeting Farooqui. CCTV footage confirmed their encounter, after which they were seen walking together. When Chaudhary did not return home, her husband, Manmohan Choudhary, reported her missing at the Sardarpura police station.

On October 30, authorities discovered Anita’s dismembered body, cut into six pieces, buried near Farooqui’s residence. During questioning, Farooqui’s wife, Abida, revealed that her husband had drugged and killed Anita, subsequently using a cutter to dismember her body and burying it near their home. Manmohan Chaudhary filed a murder case against both Farooqui and Abida, also raising concerns of possible sexual assault.

“When the Jodhpur police questioned Farooqui’s wife Abida, she told them that her husband, Ghulamuddin, had called Anita to his house and gave her a juice that was mixed with sedatives,” a police officer said. “After she felt sleepy, he had killed her, chopped her body into six pieces and then dumped the body after digging a pit near their house.” Abida was arrested for her alleged involvement, as she was also in the house when the murder took place.

A senior police officer said Farooqui fled from Jodhpur on October 29, travelling by bus to Ahmedabad. Tracking his movements through CCTV footage, the police discovered he had then taken a train to Mumbai. Consequently, a Jodhpur police team, led by Additional Deputy Commissioner Nishant Bhardwaj, coordinated with the VP Road police to locate and detain Farooqui after an extensive search.

“He had grown a beard, chopped his hair and was staying at a lodge in Mumbai Central. Later, the Rajasthan police came to us for help in tracing him. They were staying in the city for the last six days and were unable to find him. We started tracing him, tracked him and handed him over to the Sardarpura police team,” said the police officer.

“Prima facie, it is suspected by the police that the murder was allegedly committed with the purpose of stealing Chaudhary’s jewellery. However, things will become clear in detailed interrogation of the accused,” the officer added.

Preliminary investigation suggested that Ghulamuddin is addicted to gambling and accumulated a debt of over ₹12 lakh. He had known Anita for 25 years; they both had shops in Jodhpur’s Sardarpura market.

The horrifying nature of the murder has sparked public outrage in Jodhpur, leading to protests by community members under the banner of the Sarv Samaj Sangharsh Samiti. On Friday, community leaders and supporters gathered for a symbolic protest near the Rajiv Gandhi statue on Nai Sadak, demanding a CBI investigation. Their demands also include arresting all individuals involved, securing a government job for one of Anita’s dependents, and providing compensation to her family. The committee’s convener, Hanuman Singh Khangta, has alleged that Anita’s murder was a premeditated conspiracy, as evidenced by the brutal dismemberment of her body.