In a weeklong covert operation, the Karnataka police, with the help of their Mumbai counterparts, arrested two alleged murderers from the city. They had brutally murdered a coconut seller in Karnataka in August and were staying at the residences of their relatives in Mumbai.
An official from Chowk police in Gulbarga, Karnataka said the accused Irfan Shaikh (28) and Raju Kabade (31) on August 31 had murdered Anand Kamlapurkar (41), who sold coconuts in Koranti hanuman temple in the city. Around 11.30 pm, Kamlapurkar’s body was found lying in front of Sapna bar in Kallai galli with knife and blade wounds on his neck.
That night, Shaikh and Kabade had drinks at the bar, while Kamlapurkar was at another table. While leaving, the accused saw Mr Kamlapurkar lying unconscious near the bar. The duo first checked if he had any valuables on him, and then murdered him.
During the investigation, with the help of eyewitnesses at the bar, the police learnt that Shaikh and Kabade were involved in the crime.
By the time the Chowk police traced down their addresses, they had fled to Mumbai.
Kabade, a cobbler, has a wife and a two-year-old son in Karnataka while Shaikh, a driver, has two wives there. Shaikh’s divorced wife has a two-year-old daughter while his present wife has a three-month-old daughter.
When asked about the motive behind the murder, investigating officer, sub-inspector M.B. Gorvankol said, “We are probing to see if they had a past enmity. But, Irfan is a mentally perverted person. He is a psycho killer. He has admitted to have lynched Kamlapurkar along with Raju.”
“We questioned Irfan's mother. Posing as moneylenders we told her that he took a loan from us and left our cellphone number with her. A few days later, Irfan called us on the number to inquire who we were, following which we traced him on Sunday. Raju was subsequently traced to Sion,” he added.