60-year-old scrap dealer found dead, police looking for suspected rickshaw driver in murder case

Navigate Mumbai: A 60-year-old scrap dealer identified as Yakub Yunus Khan was found dead by Panvel Taluka police on November 2, following which police were looking for the suspect identified as Shrikant Ram Akbal Tiwari, a rickshaw driver. The crime came to light when Khan’s body was discovered in a bush near Morbe village on Saturday.

Khan was a resident of Vavanje village in Panvel taluka and operated a scrap metal business, while Tiwari, a resident of the same area, drove an auto-rickshaw for his livelihood. On the afternoon of October 26, Khan left his house on his scooter around 4 p.m. However, Khan did not return home that evening. His son, Imran Yakub Khan, searched for him and filed a missing complaint with the Panvel Taluka police on October 27. Subsequently, on October 29, police began examining CCTV footage from the area to locate the missing Khan.

The CCTV footage showed Khan riding his scooter from Vavanje village to Morbe village with the suspect, Tiwari. About an hour later, Tiwari was seen returning alone on the same scooter. Police then discovered that Tiwari had discarded Khan’s scooter in a pond near Mahoder village and fled the scene. After finding the scooter in the pond, police started hunting for Tiwari and discovered him missing from his house.

While searching for the absconding Tiwari, police found Khan’s decomposed body in a lawn near Agrawal farm in Kumbarkhoti village of Morbe on November 2. The body was taken into custody and sent to Panvel Sub-District Hospital for post-mortem. The post-mortem report revealed that Khan had been stabbed in the back with a sharp weapon and strangled.

“We have registered a case against Tiwari and are looking for him. Only after he is arrested can the motive behind the murder be known,” said a police officer.