Chilling Maharashtra murder: Lover beaten to death, body dumped in plastic drum
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Chilling Maharashtra murder: Lover beaten to death, body dumped in plastic drum")
Gruesome murder case from Maharashtra's Thane shocks India Photograph: (WION)
What began as a missing person case in Maharashtra has now spiralled into a chilling “drum murder” investigation, with police alleging a married woman, her husband and relatives conspired to lure, torture and kill her suspected lover before dumping his body in a plastic drum.
Mumbai: A gruesome murder case from Maharashtra’s Thane-Vasai region has shocked locals after police revealed that a married woman allegedly killed her lover with the help of her husband and relatives before dumping the body inside a plastic drum.
The victim has been identified as 26-year-old Arbaz Maqsood Ali Khan, a resident of Mumbra who worked as an engineer with a real-estate company in Dombivli.
According to police, Arbaz had gone missing on April 3 after telling his family that he was travelling to Dadar for work. When he failed to return home, and his phone remained switched off, his family approached the Mumbra police station and filed a missing persons complaint.
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During the investigation, police analysed Arbaz’s call records and mobile tower locations. Investigators discovered that Arbaz was frequently in touch with 25-year-old Mehjabeen Sheikh, a married woman from the Vasai area. Police suspect the two were in a relationship.
According to investigators, Mehjabeen allegedly called Arbaz to Vasai on the day of the incident. Police claim that Mehjabeen, along with her husband Hasan Sheikh, her brother Tariq Sheikh, and another accomplice, had conspired to attack him.
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During interrogation, the accused allegedly confessed that the motive behind the murder involved financial disputes and an alleged extortion plan. Investigators believe tensions over the relationship had also escalated in recent weeks.
Police sources said Arbaz was allegedly tied up and assaulted with plastic pipes before being killed. The accused then allegedly stuffed the body into a large plastic drum and dumped it in a secluded drain area in Vasai in an attempt to destroy evidence and mislead investigators.
The breakthrough in the case came through CCTV footage, mobile phone tracking, and interrogation of suspects. Police have arrested Mehjabeen Sheikh and her brother Tariq Sheikh, while teams are continuing searches for Mehjabeen’s absconding husband and another accused.
Officials say forensic evidence and the recovery of the drum have strengthened the case. Further investigation is underway to determine whether the murder was pre-planned and if more people were involved in disposing of the body.
This Maharashtra “drum murder” case is being compared mainly to the Meerut “blue drum” murder case from Uttar Pradesh, where a woman and her lover allegedly killed her husband, dismembered the body, and sealed it inside a blue plastic drum filled with cement.
