Mumbai: Avinash Solanki, 40, the key witness in the sensational 2011 double murder of Keenan Santos and Reuben Fernandez, was found murdered early on Monday morning. Solanki’s body was found with multiple stab wounds in the MIDC-Andheri locality. Police suspect Solanki’s business partner Nilesh Shukla to be behind the murder, as the body was discovered inside a shop owned by him.
Solanki had played a major role in securing justice for Keenan and Reuben, as he encouraged the female victims in the case to come forward and depose in a court of law, and their testimonies influenced the outcome of the case. According to sources, Solanki and Shukla were friends-turned-business partners and Solanki had heavily invested in their joint venture. A few months ago, the duo allegedly fell out over a monetary issue. On Saturday night, when Solanki was visiting his brother Deepak in Andheri, he got a call from Shukla, following which he left in a hurry. Solanki told Deepak he had to go out for work but would shortly join them for dinner. Hours after he left, his phone was not reachable and there were no signs of Solanki anywhere. An anxious Deepak then called a few crime branch officers and told them about the incident.
Soon after the crime branch learned about this, they traced Solanki’s phone and tracked it down in a closed office owned by Shukla, where they found Solanki’s body. Police said the accused had left the air-conditioner switched on to mask the smell from Solanki’s body. Navinchandra Reddy, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone 10), said, “We have registered a case of murder against an unknown person. We are scouring the CCTV footage of the area to gather evidence.”
Solanki, who was also a police informer, had helped Shukla rehabilitate after he was arrested in a narcotics case in 2013. A police source said, “Shukla, along with his bodyguard and driver, has been untraceable after the incident. Several attempts made to contact Shukla have been unsuccessful. We have launched a search operation to nab the main suspect in the murder case, Shukla.”
On October 20, 2011, Keenan and Reuben got into an altercation with four men who had passed lewd comments on their female friends as they stepped out of a bar at Amboli, Andheri. Following the altercation, the men left but returned soon after, with 10 others and weapons like metal rods and bamboo sticks, and attacked Keenan and Reuben. Keenan was stabbed four times and was declared dead on arrival at the Kokilaben Ambani Hospital that night, while Reuben succumbed to his injuries on October 31, 2011. Solanki played a key role as he was the complainant in the case, and had requested the court to create a ‘free atmosphere’ before a lady judge.