Two brothers who hired shooter to kill shopkeeper arrested

MUMBAI: Two brothers were arrested for hiring a shooter to kill a shopkeeper, aiming to prevent his testimony in an extortion case.

MUMBAI: In the early hours of Sunday, crime branch officers arrested two brothers who allegedly hired a shooter to kill a shopkeeper in a bid to keep him from testifying in an assault and extortion case against one of them. The shopkeeper was shot dead at Shanti Shopping Centre on Friday night. The arrests were made within 24 hours of the shooting, and a country-made pistol was recovered from one of the brothers’ houses.

Two brothers who hired shooter to kill shopkeeper arrested

Yusuf Akam is a 34-year-old man, who the Mira Road residents allege is a goon. He has several cases against him, one of which is extortion from shopkeepers at Shanti Shopping Centre where he collected money in a protection scheme to keep their businesses safe. Akam’s younger brother, Saifali Mansoorali Khan, is a 22-year-old cloth retail shop owner.

A crime branch officer said that on New Years’ Day, Akam allegedly demanded ₹15,000 from a stall owner, who was pregnant, before assaulting her. A case was registered against Akam by Mira-Bhayander-Vasai-Virar (MBVV) police based on the statement of Shams Tabrez Ansari alias Sonu, 32, a shop owner and eyewitness. The following day, the brothers took Ansari to a restaurant above the shopping centre, where two men from Bihar, who were acquaintances to the accused, were already seated. Ansari was allegedly threatened over a glass of alcohol and told not to testify in court against them. Ansari then approached the police and filed a complaint about receiving threats from the two brothers.

Police arrested Khan and searched his house. They could not find the shooter but found a country-made pistol, a magazine, and six bullets. Based on Khan’s confession, Akam was also arrested from Badlapur, Thane, where he had been hiding in a relative’s house. The police are currently on the lookout for the shooter and the two men who threatened Ansari, who have now allegedly fled to Bihar.

“The reason for the murder was to keep Ansari from testifying in court in their assault case. We believe that the accused hired men from their hometown in Bihar. They had them come to Mumbai with a gun to kill Ansari. The shooter had handed over the pistol to Khan before fleeing the city on the same night of the shooting,” said a police officer from crime branch.

“The two men have been arrested and will be produced before the court on Monday,” said Avinash Ambure, deputy commissioner of police (crime branch MBVV).