In a significant development in the suspicious death case of a 53-year-old woman from Mazagaon, the Agripada police have arrested the absconding accused, Zaid Hussain Khan, from Delhi. Zaid, who had been on the run for over a month, was brought to Mumbai and produced before the Mazagaon court on Monday. The court has remanded him to police custody for three days.
The case, which was initially registered as an accidental death in April this year, has taken a serious turn with murder charges now added under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). As per the FIR, the deceased woman had married her 27-year-old nephew, Shoaib Khan, without officially divorcing her husband. She died under mysterious circumstances shortly after the controversial marriage.
Investigations revealed multiple layers to the case including possible domestic violence, financial fraud, and mental harassment. Police sources said that the woman had left her husband’s residence in December 2022 and moved in with Shoaib, allegedly taking 65 tolas of gold with her. The police are currently tracing the missing gold, which is suspected to have been misappropriated.
Further inquiries exposed that the deceased and Shoaib were allegedly running a fraudulent loan racket, promising easy loans and duping multiple victims. Several complaints against them had been received earlier. The deceased’s daughter had also informed her father about the ongoing mental harassment by Shoaib, his brother Zaid, and their mother.
On April 2, the woman reportedly called her husband expressing regret and revealing that her gold and property had been usurped by Shoaib and his family. She also hinted at suicidal thoughts. On April 6, she was found critically injured after allegedly falling from a flat window and later declared dead at Masina Hospital.
During the probe, the police found blood stains and evidence of tampering at the scene, which raised strong suspicions of murder. The woman's 63-year-old husband lodged an official complaint on April 16, alleging an illicit relationship between her and Shoaib and claiming it caused serious family discord.
Zaid Khan, after his bail plea was rejected, went underground and frequently changed his location in Delhi. He was finally nabbed by Agripada police. In a related action, the family’s driver was also arrested for removing important documents from the deceased’s residence.
The case is now being investigated under BNS Sections 108, 351(2), and 3(5), with police suspecting it to be a pre-planned murder rather than a suicide.