The police have arrested a man from Karnataka in connection with the murder of a 20-year-old woman near Uran railway station in Navi Mumbai, a senior official reported. According to a deputy commissioner of police, the accused, Dawood Shaikh, was apprehended in the Shahapur area of Gulbarga, Karnataka.
Earlier, the victim's father had lodged a police complaint against Shaikh. Following that, a case was registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act in 2019.
On the day of the murder, additional Police Commissioner (Crime) Deepak Sakore revealed that the victim and Shaikh had been in contact and met each other. Suddenly, a heated argument might have broke out and escalated to the killing. However, he said that the exact motive remains unclear, according to a report on PTI.
An investigation is ongoing.
On Saturday, the woman's body was found around 2 am after her parents filed a missing persons report on July 25. The victim, who worked in Belapur, had taken a half-day leave prior to her disappearance.
Police registered a case under section 103 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) against an unidentified person, forming eight teams to trace the accused. Initially detaining several suspects, the police eventually identified Shaikh as the prime suspect based on gathered information, as per the report.
The autopsy report confirmed that the victim died from stab wounds. Shaikh had previously lived in Uran but relocated to Karnataka after the POCSO case was filed against him in 2019. He worked as a driver in Karnataka while continuing to communicate with the victim.
Efforts are currently underway to recover the victim's mobile phone. Shaikh has confessed to the crime and will be brought to Navi Mumbai for further questioning, police officials said.