A commercial sex worker helped the Wadala police identify a murder victim — her regular patron — and subsequently crack the case by arresting two persons. The police had found the victim stabbed to death on Container Road on June 3.
The victim (35), a drifter, worked at construction sites and was killed by one of his supervisors over his “arrogant” and “acid-tongued” behaviour.
Khan’s body was found around 10 pm by a watchman, following which the police initiated investigations. His complete identity remains to be established. “Around a week ago, our constable spotted a sex worker in Kamathipura who was shocked to see the picture of Khan that we had begun circulating . She was then brought in for questioning,” said senior PI Pandurang Ingule.
The woman told the police that the “short tempered” Khan would visit her once a week and was friends with one of her own relatives from West Bengal. “We traced the relative, Anamul, who told us he worked at the construction sites in Andheri, Saat Rasta and Nagpada. We got the number of one of his workers who was in UP when we contacted him. He also told us that Khan was a mean drunk with a habit of arrogantly snapping at people. Questioning some of his co-workers revealed that a site supervisor, Munna, had been planning to get even with the victim. We also learnt about Munna’s friend Batla, a cripple,” added Mr Ingule.
The police then laid trap at a bar in Nagpada, frequented by Munna, and subsequently held him. Munna confessed to murdering Khan with the help of Batla and another person, Iqbal. His motive was to settle scores with Khan who often used to defy his instructions.