Unit X of the Mumbai Police Crime Branch on Tuesday arrested a man wanted for the murder of a 80-year-old woman in Gujarat.
Rambhaben Patel was found dead in her house in Ghatlodia on December 21 last year. The police arrested the woman’s son-in-law, Ramesh Patel, who gave a contract to kill Rambhaben to Ishtiaque Hassan Ali Khan, a native of Mumbai. Mr. Khan hired two natives of Gujarat to pose as courier boys and kill her.
An officer said, “Based on a tip-off, we laid a trap for Mr. Khan when he came to Meghwadi in Jogeshwari to meet a friend on Monday evening. However, he did not turn up.” At around 9.15 a.m. on Tuesday, Mr. Khan showed up and was detained. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Detection I) Nisar Tamboli said, “Mr. Khan has one case under the Arms Act registered against him in Mumbai.”
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The probe so far indicates that Mr. Patel had asked Rambhaben for money after suffering losses in his sand mining business. When she refused to help, Mr. Patel hatched a plan to kill her. He intended to pay off his debts with the money his wife would inherit when Rambhaben’s property was split among her children after her death.