Mosquito net gave railway cops first clue

It was a mosquito net that led the railway police to Kudus Khan, 65, the father-in-law and Noor Islam Khan, 35, the brother-in-law of the murdered woman Laija Khan whose body was found in the luggage compartment of a local train in the early hours of April 25.

It was a mosquito net that led the railway police to Kudus Khan, 65, the father-in-law and Noor Islam Khan, 35, the brother-in-law of the murdered woman Laija Khan whose body was found in the luggage compartment of a local train in the early hours of April 25.

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Along with body the railway police had 24 sets of clothes including a mosquito net. The mosquito net was different from the ones sold in the city.

“We started asking people who sold mosquito nets in the city and learnt that such nets were not made in Mumbai. A few days later another person told us such nets were manufactured in Bangladesh and were used by either construction labourers or slum dwellers. We assumed that either the deceased or the accused were from Bangladesh,” said Anil Tamaychekar, deputy commissioner of the police (WR).

As the police had already acquired CCTV footage of a person, which later turned out to be Laija’s husband Abdul alias Lotan Khan, 38, boarding the same compartment with the luggage on that morning, the investigation was shifted to the Nalasopara area.

Neighbours were unaware of Laija’s murder as the family locked the flat and went into hiding.