Mumbai diamond merchant murder: 3 more, including alleged honey-trap, held

With the arrest of three more people on Tuesday, the total number of arrests in the Rajeshwar Udani murder case has gone up to six.

The Pant Nagar police arrested three more people on Tuesday in connection with the murder of diamond trader Rajeshwar Udani, taking the total number of arrests in the case to six. Among those held is a young woman who the police believed was used as a honeytrap to lure Udani into the car in which he was allegedly killed.

Mumbai Police with one of the people arrested in connection with the murder of diamond merchant Rajeshwar Udani. (HT Photo)

The three arrested on Tuesday are Mahesh Prabhakar Bhoir, 31, Shahista Khan , 41, and her niece Nikhat Mohamed Umar Khan, 20. “Nikhat was the only woman present in the car and was used as a honeytrap. She witnessed the crime. She claims innocence, but never approached the police despite witnessing the crime,” said a high-ranking officer privy to the investigation.

“Shahista was the one who arranged Nikhat to be the honeytrap while Mahesh was also present in the car. He is a resident of Panvel, where the body was dumped,” he added. Police also recovered on Tuesday the car in which Udani was killed.

Udani was last seen on November 28. Investigations have revealed that on November 28, Udani left his Vikhroli office and then at Pantnagar, left his car and entered another one. The police believe that he was fed cake in the second car and that the woman in the car, Nikhat, was used to lure Udani.

Police sources stated that Khan, who goes by the alias Dolly, was promised ₹15 lakh while Nikhat was promised ₹5 lakh for their parts in the crime. Dolly is a friend of Sachin Pawar, a politician who also worked in show business, and was arrested on December 8.

The police believe Dolly and Pawar had previously planned to honeytrap Udani at a residence, which didn’t pan out. The plot involving Nikhat in a car was the accused duo’s second attempt. The probe also points to a monetary dispute between Pawar and Udani due to which Pawar planned to extort money from Udani, but ended up killing him. “There is one more suspect who was in the car and we are looking out for him,” said the officer.

Meanwhile, suspended Mumbai Police constable Dinesh Pawar, 29 and driver of the car Pranit Bhoir, 20, who have both been arrested in the case, were sent to police custody till December 15. Sachin Pawar is already under police custody.