MUMBAI: Thane police have arrested a Kandivali police constable for allegedly kidnapping and murdering a businessman in a bid to recover Rs 1.5 lakh which he had lent to him about a year ago.
Constable Mushtaq Mulani (40) and his brother Babloo (35) were arrested on Thursday night for abduction and murder of the Mira Road-based businessman Mustafa Sheikh (34).
According to the police, Mulani, who also stays in Mira Road, went to Sheikh’s house on Tuesday evening for recovering the money lent to him. They then left the house together, the police said.
However, when Sheikh didn’t return home at night, his wife lodged a missing person complaint.
On Wednesday morning, Thane rural police found the body of Sheikh at a secluded spot on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway, with his hands and legs tied up.
The police rounded up Mulani’s brother Babloo and he allegedly confessed to the crime. Police said, in an attempt to recover the money, Sheikh was abducted and confined in a flat where he was brutally tortured before being strangled to death. The constable then purportedly dumped the body near the highway.
Mulani claimed that he was on sick leave after he suffered a brain haemorrhage about six months back.
He was in a dire need of money and had been pursuing Sheikh for a long time. Police said that Mulani’s claims were being verified.