Less than 24 hours after the murder of Iqbal Darvesh, son of Jenabai Darvesh, an influential figure in the erstwhile Mumbai underworld, the Mumbai police late on Saturday arrested three persons, include the sister of Iqbal’s third wife, over the charges of murder.
Rahat Rashid Pathan, 23, was picked up by the police hours after the murder, along with her two alleged accomplices Mujjamil Ashrul Shaikh, 26, and Mustafa Ahmed Khan, 26.
According to Dnyaneshwar Chavan, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Zone 2, Pathan’s sister was Iqbal’s third wife, whom he recently divorced. “She was a frequent visitor to his house. She hatched the plan to kill him and rob the house as she thought he had a lot of money,” said Mr. Chavan.
Iqbal, 72, was found murdered at his Mohamed Ali Road residence on Saturday evening. According to the Pydhonie police, his grandson Salman, 26, found Iqbal lying on the floor, bound and gagged, at his residence in Israeli Mohalla. Salman took him to J.J. Hospital, where he was declared dead before admission.
All three accused have been sent to police custody till January 11.
Known by a host of names, including Jenabai Daruwali, Jena Maasi, Jena Aapa and Jena Khabri, Iqbal’s mother was a freedom fighter. After Partition, her husband left her to go to Pakistan, leaving her with five children to raise on her own. She turned to crime in the early 1950s. Jenabai got involved in liquor-smuggling rackets
