The Oshiwara police cracked the murder case of a 74-year-old woman who was killed at her residence in Jogeshwari (west) on February 11. The security guard of her society, who had fled to Kashmir, has been arrested for the crime. He used to monitor the CCTV cameras of the building and hence while committing the crime ensured he was not caught on camera.
The victim Mumtaz Abdul Rashid Badshah was found with her throat slit inside her flat in D wing on Aksa Masjid road. DCP, Zone IX, Satya Narayan said the accused Mohammad Rafi alias Rafiq Vali Mohammad Chaudhary (28) had been working in the society for two years and had succeeded his father who was the society’s guard earlier.
To evade detection, Rafiq went to the terrace of C wing and jumped onto the terrace of the D wing and then took the stairs to reach Mumtaz’s flat. The CCTV cameras were placed at the entry of each of the blocks, so he was not caught on it. During the murder, the first knife that Rafiq used broke apart and the second knife was not sharp enough to kill so he used a third kitchen knife to slit Mumtaz’s throat. He used the same route to exit the building. Due to the discovery of three knives at the crime scene, the police felt that there was more than one accused.
The police had formed special teams that scanned the cameras, questioned every person seen in the footage, recorded statements of several persons, verified their versions in a bid to narrow down on the accused. Rafiq knew that the police would soon find discrepancies in his statement and so despite the police warning him to stay within the city, he fled. A team led by police inspector Parmeshwar Ganme and police sub-inspector Shelkar traced Rafiq to his village located on a hill in Darhal Malkan in Rajouri district in Jammu and Kashmir.
Speaking about the case, ACP Arun Chavan said, “A few days before the murder Rafiq was told that his services will be terminated for not being efficient. Another security guard was hired as his substitute and he became insecure. He planned the murder thinking that the society will feel insecure after the murder and let him keep his job.”
“He then chose to target Mumtaz as she lived alone with her elderly husband. Also, she used to be alone everyday from morning till afternoon,” said senior inspector of Oshiwara police, Subhash Khanvilkar.
Rafiq is unmarried and has studied till Class 9. He has been remanded to police custody for seven days. The police is checking if there are any more motives to the crime. He does not have a prior crime record. The society had collected his background information before hiring him and that helped in solving the case, said the police.
