In a shocking incident, a 41-year-old man allegedly hired contract killers to murder his 70-year-old father after a dispute over business profits. The gruesome crime took place on Sunday in Kandivali, and the Charkop Police have arrested the son, his business partner, and one of the hired killers.
The deceased, Mohammad Syed (70), was a businessman who owned a metal factory in the Government Industrial Estate at Charkop, Kandivali, where molten metal was cast into moulds. He also ran a glass factory. On Sunday morning, Syed had gone to his factory as usual, but around 12 noon, his body was found inside the premises with multiple stab wounds.
Police investigation revealed that two unidentified men had entered the factory earlier that morning. CCTV footage showed them staying inside the premises for nearly an hour before fatally attacking Syed with knives. After the murder, the assailants dumped the weapon in a water tank inside the factory, which was later recovered by police.
A special team under Zone 11 tracked down one of the attackers to Navi Mumbai and arrested him. The accused, identified as Mohammad Islam (26), confessed to the crime. However, when asked who ordered the killing, he revealed that it was none other than Syed’s elder son, Hameed Syed (41), along with his business partner and close friend Shanu Chaudhary (40).
Following this revelation, Charkop Police swiftly arrested both Hameed and Chaudhary. They will be produced in court on Tuesday. Meanwhile, efforts are underway to trace the second hired killer.
According to police, the motive behind the murder was a long-standing financial dispute. Shanu Chaudhary had invested around ₹1 crore in Syed’s glass factory in partnership with Hameed. However, Syed allegedly refused to share the profit amount and even put the factory premises up for sale, which enraged his son and his partner. The factory had also been shut for the past month.
To settle the dispute, the duo allegedly plotted the murder and paid contract killer Mohammad Islam ₹6.5 lakh to eliminate Syed.
Police are continuing their probe to apprehend the absconding assailant and gather further evidence in the case.