A suspended sub-inspector with the Mumbai Police was detained in connection with the murder of a 25-year-old man who was found dead in Ghatkopar in the early hours of Thursday.
Body in drain
Residents of Sainath Nagar area informed the police about a dead body lying in a sewage drain in the locality and a team was sent to the spot around 1.30 a.m.
The deceased, identified as Ganesh Mhaske (25), was taken to the Rajawadi Hospital for post-mortem examination.
“Some eye witnesses had seen Mhaske get into an altercation with four men who beat him till he fell down, lifeless, and then threw his body in the drain. One of the eye witnesses had noted the license plate number of the car in which the men fled, and we started tracking it,” an officer with the Ghatkopar police said.
On Thursday evening, using registration details of the car, cellular locations of the owner and information gleaned from family members and friends of the suspects, the car was intercepted at Dapoli in Konkan with the help of the local police.
Red-handed
Upon questioning the four occupants of the car, the police identified one of them as Shyam Ayare (38), who was suspended in February.
Mr. Ayare was attached to the Kherwadi police station when he was allegedly caught red-handed by the Maharashtra Anti Corruption Bureau while accepting a bribe of ₹40,000.
“Our team is on its way back to Mumbai with the accused. The reason behind the murder is still being investigated. Prima facie, it does not seem as if the accused and the deceased knew each other. The specifics of the offence will be clear only after we have them in custody and question them,” the officer said.