Sixteen days after crime reporter Jyotirmoy Dey was shot dead here, Mumbai Police's Crime Branch on Monday claimed to have cracked the murder case with the detention of five persons.
"We have cracked the case. At least five persons have been detained from the state as well as from outside the state," a senior Crime Branch official told PTI.
J Dey (56), working with the city-based English tabloid Mid Day, was shot dead by four motorcycle-borne assailants in suburban Powai on June 11.
Dey was shot at from close range, reportedly by professionals, and a total of 5 bullets entered his body.
The murder of the veteran scribe had sent shockwaves and the Mumbai police were probing the case from all angles. The police had also examined Dey's laptop and a hard disk besides some important documents to get a lead in the sensational murder.
Various journalists' associations have been demanding a CBI probe, but the Maharashtra government ruled it out.
The Bombay High Court had recently directed the police to file a report by July 6 on the progress of investigations into Dey's murder.
Assistant commissioner of police (ACP) Anil Mahabole, who was in-charge of Azad Maidan division in south Mumbai, was also shunted out to the Local Arms Control Room in suburban Naigaon after his name cropped up in the case.