Within 24 hours of a teacher’s murder, the Arnala police have arrested a 22-year-old acquaintance of the victim. Prima facie, it appears that the killing is a fallout of a petty tiff related to money, said the cops without divulging more details as further probe is on.

Details of crime

The accused, Alfaran Chand Usman Khan who does odd jobs in the film industry, is also accused of attempting to cover his crime by staging the murder as a suicide. According to the police, Anil Chandaya informed them that his younger brother Nagesh, 48, was found dead at his apartment in Vasai’s Premium Park area. Initially, an accidental death report (ADR) was registered on January 22.

During the investigation, the police could not locate the mobile phone of the deceased. Moreover, an unidentified man had been spotted entering and leaving the building in a suspicious manner hours before the body was found. A team led by senior Inspector Vijay Patil checked the call data records and kept the suspect’s mobile number on surveillance.

It came to the fore that the contact was active between Virar and Goregaon. Special teams were then deputed and Khan was finally apprehended near the Bangur Nagar Metro station on January 23. A native of Rajasthan, the accused lived in the Mitha Nagar area of Goregaon. He confessed to have murdered Nagesh by slitting his wrists and later strangling him to death.

Meanwhile, the ADR has been converted into a murder case under the Indian Penal Code section 302.