AHMEDABAD: A midnight road accident on the Palsana-Bardoli highway, which left a 43-year-old man dead, has turned out to be an alleged contract killing, with police claiming that a man based in Johannesburg, South Africa, hired his tenant for Rs 1 lakh to eliminate the victim so he could pursue a relationship with his wife.
Surat Rural Police have arrested Abdulrehman Shaikh, 42, the alleged mastermind, and Soyeb Ghanchi, 35, accused of carrying out the murder using a Bolero pickup and making it look like a hit-and-run.
The victim, Sajid Pirmahammad Qureshi, was riding his bike near Vanesa village shortly before 12.45 am on March 15, 2026, when a Bolero pickup allegedly rammed into him, ran him over and sped away. Sajid died of his injuries. Palsana police initially registered a hit-and-run case against an unidentified driver.
The case took a different turn when the Surat Rural Local Crime Branch (LCB) received confidential information suggesting that Sajid had been deliberately run down as part of a contract killing. A probe subsequently uncovered the alleged conspiracy.
According to police, Shaikh, who was in Johannesburg, wanted to pursue a relationship with Sajid’s wife and considered her husband an obstacle. He allegedly offered Rs 1 lakh to Ghanchi, his tenant and friend from Ahmedabad, to carry out the killing.
Investigators found that Shaikh had allegedly coordinated the operation from South Africa, remaining in contact with both Sajid and Ghanchi. He is suspected of tracking Sajid’s movements and passing his location to Ghanchi.
The two allegedly arranged a Bolero pickup purchased from Kadi in North Gujarat. Sajid was reportedly lured towards Bardoli on the promise of money. Acting on information relayed by Shaikh, Ghanchi tracked him down.
When Sajid stopped his bike on the Palsana-Bardoli road, Ghanchi allegedly accelerated the pickup into him, ran him over and fled. The LCB arrested both men following the probe and seized three phones.