The Dadar police on Tuesday arrested a vegetable vendor for allegedly stabbing his customer to death during an argument over a torn currency note on Monday night.
According to the Shivaji Park police, the accused, Soni Lal Mahonto (25), used to sell vegetables outside the Dadar station for a living. The police said the deceased, Mohammed Hanif (35), was a carpenter by profession and was on his way to his Saki Naka residence after work when he stopped at Mr. Mahonto’s stall to buy vegetables at around 10.30 p.m. on Monday.
“During the transaction, Mr. Mahonto handed a torn 10-rupee note to Hanif, to which the vendor took objection. An argument ensued, which soon turned heated. Mr. Mahonto picked up the knife he used to cut vegetables with and stabbed Hanif repeatedly till he collapsed,” an officer with the Shivaji Park police station said.
Mr. Mahonto fled the scene, while eyewitnesses informed the police. A team of policemen reached the spot and Hanif was admitted to the Sion Hospital, where he was declared dead before admission due to stab wounds to his neck and hands, police said.
The investigating team scanned closed circuit television footage of the spot and made enquiries with other vendors in the area, who helped police identify Mr. Mahonto and provided his photograph to them.
“Some of the vendors also told us that Mr. Mahonto had recently expressed his intention to go to his hometown soon, and we suspected he might have fled there. However, while Mr. Mahonto hails from Bihar, he has spent 15 years in West Bengal and we were not sure where exactly he would go. Hence, we sent out alerts to Government Railway Police (GRP) at all major railway stations where outstation trains originate from or halt at,” the officer said.
Around 5 a.m. on Tuesday, Mr. Mahonto was spotted by a GRP officer at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus station, who nabbed him and later handed him over to the Shivaji Park police. He was placed under arrest and charged with murder under the Indian Penal Code, officers said.