MUMBAI: A 47-year-old hawker was allegedly kidnapped by three men from Saki Naka to a bridge in Chheda Nagar, Ghatkopar, where they assaulted him to death. The accused then dumped his body in the bushes and fled with the ₹30,000 cash that the victim was carrying. Police said the murder took place over a financial dispute, and the body was found on Friday.
On October 7, the Saki Naka police lodged a missing person’s complaint for Munnawar Sherali Ansari, 38, a resident of Khairani Road. According to the police, the complainant, a hawker, said his brother Ehsaan Ali, 47, also a hawker, had been missing since October 7. Ehsaan had left home that day and did not return. The family tried every way to search for him and establish contact with him before Ansari eventually approached the police.
“We started the search for Ehsaan by going through CCTV footage in the area and mobile details. We realised he was last in contact with Nisar Ansari, 25, Wajid Ali Hussain, 45, Haqiqat Ali Ansari, 28, all residents of Khairani, Saki Naka,” said the police officer. The three met him and offered him something to eat. Then, they took him to the bushes in Chheda Nagar where they assaulted him, said the officer. They threw the body in some bushes and fled with the cash he was carrying.
Ansari, the complainant, said, “My brother had not gone to the village for two years as he planned to get his daughter married this year. He was working hard for it and saving money. All those who killed him stayed in the same room as him and knew he had around ₹1.5 lakh, so it looks like they killed him to steal it.”
“On Friday, everything became clear, so we registered an offence under sections 103 (murder) and 140 (kidnapping) for ransom of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita,” said the police officer. The police learnt there was a financial dispute between the deceased and the accused, who were also hawkers or handcart pushers. “The deceased allegedly borrowed money from the accused for his daughter’s marriage. After the assault, they stole his ₹30,000,” said the police officer. The police said it was unclear how much money or when the deceased had borrowed.
“The body was thrown in the bushes, and due to rain, the area had become muddy. Although I was emitting a foul odour, nobody visited, thinking it was perhaps an animal’s body. The body was completely decomposed when found,” said the officer.