The Pydhonie police on Thursday solved the murder of a 24-year-old man, who was stabbed to death in broad daylight a stone’s throw away from the police station, within 24 hours.
According to the police, the deceased, a pavement dweller, has only been identified as Krishna, based on a name tattooed on his forearm. They said his body was found with multiple stab wounds across the street from the police station at 4.45 p.m. on Wednesday.
Krishna was rushed to JJ Hospital in Byculla, where he was declared dead before admission. The police then registered a case against unidentified persons and initiated inquiries. They had been told by eyewitnesses that Krishna was stabbed by a male in his late 20s, who fled the scene immediately.
Further inquiries revealed that both Krishna and his killer were homeless and were addicted to solution, a drug widely used among homeless youth due to its easily affordability. Originally used in the repairing of tyres, it became a drug of choice among the penniless after it was discovered to have intoxicating properties.
With the help of local informants, the accused was identified as Ravi Sawant. The police then scanned CCTV cameras in the area and tracked Mr. Sawant’s movements to SC Marg in Bhendi Bazaar.
“We looked for him for the entire night and found him at a spot where he regularly goes to sleep at night,” assistant police inspector Ratna Khandelwal, Pydhonie police station, said.
She said Mr. Sawant and Krishna would both queue up outside Hamidiya Masjid every evening, when devotees, after offering their prayers, would distribute food among the needy as part of their sadqa , a practice followed in Islam.
“As per inquiries so far, the two got into an argument over trying to bypass each other in the queue and Mr. Sawant ran to a nearby street-stall, got a knife and stabbed Krishna multiple times before fleeing. The two are not related to each other and there does not seem to have been any past animosity between them. This was a crime of passion, not a planned murder,” Ms. Khandelwal said.
Mr. Sawant was arrested at 5 p.m. on Thursday and charged with murder the Indian Penal Code.
