After four months, the local crime branch of the Thane rural police arrested a 54-year-old man and his son, a 17-year-old juvenile, on Friday in connection with the murder of an elderly man. The victim’s body was placed in a bag and dumped on land in Varap village, located on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad road, on August 15.
The accused have been identified as Ajay Kumar Mishra, 54, a resident of Varap village in Kalyan, and his 17-year-old son, who was involved in the crime. The deceased has been identified as Mukesh Shyam Sundar Kumar, 65, a retired Merchant Navy officer and a resident of the Khadakpada area in Kalyan.
During the interrogation, the police revealed that Mukesh was poisoned before his body was packed in a bag and dumped. On August 15, a local resident found the body in a bag on land in Varap village under the jurisdiction of the Kalyan Taluka police station. The discovery occurred while the resident was there for a nature call. The police rushed to the spot, retrieved the body, and sent it to a nearby hospital for a post-mortem. Subsequently, a murder case and charges of destroying evidence were registered against unknown persons.
Four teams, including the local crime branch, were assigned to investigate the case. Investigators reviewed over 100 CCTV recordings from the nearby locality, inspected the scene, conducted a panchanama, and engaged local informers. Constable Prakash Sahil obtained crucial information identifying the deceased, his residence, and the fact that his children live abroad.
Suresh Manore, Police Inspector from the Local Crime Branch (LCB), along with his staff, visited the Khadakpada area and searched the location and building where Kumar had lived. They discovered that Kumar had been missing since August 11. The police traced Kumar’s cousin, Ajay Kumar Mishra, to Varap village. During interrogation, Mishra confessed to calling Kumar to his home in Varap, poisoning him, and disposing of his body on August 14 with the help of his son. The bag containing the body was dumped on land in Varap village. According to officials, the motive behind the murder was to gain ownership of Kumar’s property.
The accused was produced in court and remanded to police custody for further investigation. The juvenile was presented to the Juvenile Justice Board and sent to a correctional home.
