Main suspect held in woman's murder case in Pune

PUNE: A team of city police personnel on Wednesday nabbed the main suspect in the April 24 murder of a woman attendant of the Khadki ammunition factory. The man was picked up from his hometown of Bijapur in Karnataka. However, his aide continues to be on the run.
Senior inspector of Khadki police Vishnu Tamhane said: "During initial questioning, Naseer Zinaid Birajdar, a 28-year-old autorickshaw driver residing at Moshi, told us that he had been pursuing the woman for a relationship for two years, but she kept turning him down. This prompted him to kill her and flee to Bijapur. Birajdar was brought to the city and formally arrested around 8.30pm on Wednesday."
"We recovered the knife used in the crime from Birajdar's possession. However, we are yet to recover the motorcycle that belongs to his aide," Tamhane said. "We have identified his absconding aide, a casual worker," he added. On Thursday, inspector Mansingh Patil, sub-inspector Vaibhav Magdum and team produced Birajdar before a magisterial court, which ordered custodial remand till May 2.
Tamhane said, "The woman, who had joined the ammunition factory on compassionate grounds after her husband's death 10 years ago, had met with an accident two years ago. She had hired Birajdar's services to commute to and from her office. Birajdar then started pursuing her, but she was not interested."
"After recovering from her injury a few months ago, the woman bought a scooter and started commuting on her own. Birajdar, however, kept following her," the officer said. "Irked by her constant refusals, Birajdar decided to eliminate the woman," he added.
Tamhane said, "Birajdar's name cropped up during the investigations when the police recorded statements of the victim's family and others who knew her. Police also realised he was missing from his current address in Moshi. The investigators traced him to Bijapur after following leads gathered from his cellphone tower location and call data records."