The Mumbai police have arrested a 23-year-old man named Mohammed Ansari in connection to the brutal murder of an 18-year-old NEET aspirant girl named Sonam Shukla.

As per reports, the victim went missing after she left her home for tuition at 4 pm on Monday (April 25). Sonam was a resident of Premnagar in the Goregaon West area of Mumbai. As per the police, the teenager did not attend her tuition classes and instead went to one of her female friend’s house, before leaving the place at around 9 pm.

When Sonam Shukla did not return home by 9:30 pm, her worried father called her to inquire about her whereabouts. “My daughter told me that she will reach home in some time as she is at her friend’s home. But when she did not reach till 11.30 pm, I got worried and again tried her number,” the victim’s father informed.

He added that the teenager’s phone switched off at around 11 o’clock at the night. The 19-year-old had gone to the residence of Mohammed Ansari, a graduate student, and a bakery owner. At that time, his parents were not at home.

Sonam Shukla had a heated argument with Ansari, he then strangled her with a wire till she became lifeless

Sonam Shukla, who was allegedly in a relationship with Ansari, had a heated argument with him. The accused then strangled her with a wire till the victim became lifeless. He then tied her hands and legs, stuffed her dead body in a gunny bag, and then dumped it near a creek in Malad West.

Ansari had hoped that the body would be eaten by fishes. On not finding his daughter, Sonam’s father lodged a missing complaint with the Goregaon West police. The cops discovered Sonam’s decomposed body only on Thursday (April 28) when it washed ashore at Barista Lane in Versova.

DCP (Zone IX) Manjunath Singe took cognizance of the matter and initiated a probe. The Versova police uploaded the photo of the victim on their WhatsApp group and learned that a girl was reported missing by her parents at the Goregaon West police station. The cops notified the Sonam’s parents, who had earlier filed the missing complaint.

“I learned that my daughter was killed when the police sent a photo of a decomposed body of a girl but it was not in a position to identify her. So, we were asked to reach Cooper hospital where we identified her. Police said her body was stuffed in a sack and was washed ashore near Versova,” Sonam’s father lamented.

While speaking about the matter, a Versova police official said that they learned about Ansari through local sources. The official added that the accused broke down during the interrogation and confessed to his crime.

Ansari tied Sonam hands and legs, stuffed her dead body in a gunny bag, and then dumped it near a creek in Malad West

The official added that Ansari befriended Sonam Shukla during her visits to the bakery shop. The victim’s father demanded stringent punishment for the accused. A case was registered against the accused under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) Sections 201 (disappearance of evidence) and 302 (murder).

“Our daughter was aiming to become a doctor. My child’s bright future has been cut short. We celebrated her 18th birthday in February and she was supposed to appear for NEET in two months. She used to put in at least 7 to 8 hours daily preparing for the entrance,” he lamented.

As per activist Saroj Gupta, the Goregaon police had initially registered a ‘missing complaint’ instead of a case of abduction. “The girl’s parents were harassed at the police station by the cops, “Gupta had added.

References:

opindia.com