Mumbai: The death of a teenager, who was believed to have died in a train accident earlier this month, has turned out to be a murder with the Crime Branch of the Government Railway Police (GRP) arresting a minor.
The 17-year-old accused killed Imran Qureshi (19) during an argument over unpaid dues, and disposed of his body on tracks near Govandi railway station.
On the night of October 9, Crime Branch officers said, the body of Qureshi was found. The Vashi GRP registered an accidental death report and sent the body for post-mortem. However, the autopsy report stated some injuries on the body, which were indicative of murder.
“The Crime Branch received a tip-off that Qureshi had been murdered. The informant gave us the description of the suspect, and we initiated inquiries in Govandi, where Qureshi used to stay. We zeroed in on the 17-year-old accused on October 28,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police Samadhan Pawar, Central Zone, Mumbai GRP.
Mr. Pawar said the accused confessed to have killed Qureshi over a dispute. “During the recent Eid-ul-Adha festival, the accused had bought some meat worth ₹300 from Qureshi, a butcher in Deonar slaughter house, and promised to pay him at a later date. When he did not pay for a long time, Qureshi began pestering him for the money and later got aggressive, using abusive language.”
On October 9, Qureshi called the accused to meet him near railway tracks at around 8:30 p.m. Fed up with Qureshi’s harassment, the accused took a knife with him before going to meet him. The duo got into an argument, and the accused stabbed Qureshi in the stomach and neck. He dragged his body to the tracks to make his death look like an accident.
“The accused was hiding nearby when a local train ran over Qureshi’s body, cutting it into two pieces. He was around even when the police team reached the spot,” said Mr. Pawar.
The minor was booked for murder and destruction of evidence, and handed over to the Vashi GRP. He was sent to the juvenile remand home in Dongri.
