In a major breakthrough in the suspicious death case of a 53-year-old Mazgaon woman, the Agripada police have arrested absconding accused Mohammed Subhan Shah (24) from the Indo-Nepal border after nearly three months on the run. He was produced before the Mazagaon court, which remanded him to three days of police custody.
According to police, Subhan is accused of destroying the weapon used in the crime. His arrest marks another key development in the case, which has already seen multiple arrests.
Earlier, police had arrested the deceased woman’s 27-year-old nephew, Shoaib Khan, with whom she had controversially married without divorcing her husband. Shoaib’s brother Zaid Hussain Khan was arrested from Delhi last month after evading police for month, while the family’s driver was also taken into custody for removing crucial documents from the victim’s residence. Shoaib’s mother has also been named as an accused, though she has been granted anticipatory bail by the High Court.
The case was initially registered as abetment to suicide when the woman was rushed to Masina Hospital in a critical condition on April 5 and declared dead before treatment. However, during further investigation, police added murder charges under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) after finding blood stains and evidence of tampering at the crime scene.
Investigations further revealed that the deceased had moved in with Shoaib in December 2022, allegedly taking 65 tolas of gold, and was later involved with him in a suspected loan fraud racket. Police are still tracing the missing gold.
The woman’s husband lodged a formal complaint on April 16, alleging harassment by Shoaib, his brother Zaid, their mother, and associates. The police now strongly suspect the case to be a pre-planned murder rather than a suicide.
The investigation is ongoing under BNS Sections 108, 351(2), and 3(5), with more arrests not being ruled out.