Mumbai: Investigations into the murder of Khar couple Nanak and Daya Makhijani last week have revealed that Singhasan Eka, one of the two accused arrested in the case, is also wanted for a murder he allegedly committed in Odisha, where he was a policeman, police said on Tuesday.
The Makhijanis were found strangled to death in their first-floor apartment in Ekta Elite building in Khar (West) on the morning of June 21. Police arrested Parvati Khaka (20), a fulltime maid employed by the elderly couple, and Mr. Eka, her boyfriend.
According to the police, Mr. Eka, during his interrogation, has revealed that he was a constable with the Odisha Police till around four years ago.
Police Inspector Khalil Sheikh, Khar police station, who is the investigating officer of the double murder case, said, “At this point, we have only been able to ascertain that Mr. Eka was a serving constable when he committed the murder, and that he was on leave at the time. We have been trying to obtain further information about the murder in Odisha, but Mr. Eka keeps changing his statements, making it difficult to ascertain anything,” .
Mr. Sheikh added that they have contacted the Odisha police seeking details of the case, so that Mr. Eka can be further interrogated on the basis of this information.
According to the police, Mr. Eka entered the Makhijani residence in the early hours of June 21, after the couple had gone to sleep. He, along with Ms. Khaka, tied the Makhijanis to the bed and strangulated them. They then ransacked two cupboards in the bedroom.
They were intercepted on board a Mumbai-Odisha train the same night, and were brought to Mumbai on June 22, after which they were placed under arrest. The police recovered cash and gold jewellery worth around ₹10 lakh from the duo.
The police are still investigating whether Ms. Khaka secured employment with the Makhijanis with the intention of robbing them, or whether it was Mr. Eka who came up with the idea after realising the couple would be alone at night with only Ms. Khaka around.