RTI activist murdered in Mumbai: Arrested duo remanded in police custody till Oct 24

Prosecution sought maximum custody claiming detailed investigation was necessary, as the deceased and the accused were locked in a property dispute

Vakola police have arrested ex-corporator Razzak Khan, 78, and his son Amjad Khan, 53, for their alleged involvement in the murder of 61-year-old RTI activist Bhupendra Vira.

The accused were remanded to police custody till October 24 by a magistrate court in the city on Monday.

Demanding their police custody, public prosecutor Ashok Medhe told the court, “The complainant (Vira’s son-in-law) in this case has alleged that they were getting repeated threats from the family of the accused. They also have a property dispute. In the past, family members of the accused had also attacked Vira’s son. The police custody is required for detailed investigation, and maximum police custody be granted.”

Vira’s wife was cooking in the kitchen, while he was sitting in another room watching television. Surprisingly, the gunshot was neither heard by his wife nor by the neighbours, leading the police to suspect that the accused used a firearm equipped with a silencer. (/HT PHOTO)

According to officials from Vakola police station, it was one of the neighbours who fist spotted Vira’s body lying in a pool of blood at his residence in Razzak chawl behind Kalina mosque and rushed inside to inform his wife. Vira’s wife was cooking in the kitchen, while he was sitting in another room watching television. Surprisingly, the gunshot was neither heard by his wife nor by the neighbours, leading the police to suspect that the accused used a firearm equipped with a silencer. His wife told the police that she heard a faint sound, but couldn’t make out that its was a gunshot as the television was on. The chawl lacks CCTV cameras and the police are now searching for witnesses who might have seen a suspicious person in the area around same time.