Cab driver says he killed HDFC executive for money to pay his bike’s EMI: Police

MUMBAI: A 39-year-old bank executive, who had gone missing five days back, was found murdered, with the police on Monday claiming to have arrested a man who has admitted to the crime.

The heavily decomposed body of Siddharth Sanghvi, a vicepresident of the HDFC bank, was found in Navi Mumbai on Monday morning. He was last seen on September 5, when he left his office at 7.30pm.

Sanghvi had not returned home last Wednesday after which his family had lodged a missing complaint at the N M Joshi Marg Police station in Central Mumbai. Three days after Sanghvi went missing, his father received a call, with the caller telling him that his son was safe and he need not worry.

Investigations revealed that the call was made from Sanghvi’s phone, although the sim card was different, the police said. The police found that the phone was in possession of Sarfaraz Shaikh alias Rais, a 20-year-old who worked at the parking bay of Kamala Mills where the victim’s office is located.

Hours after Sanghvi’s body was found, the police brought Shaikh for questioning. During interrogation, he confessed to murdering Sanghvi and repeated his confession in court, when he was presented before the metropolitan magistrate at Bhoiwada.

“Jo hua woh hua sir, meine hi kiya hai (Whatever has happened has in fact happened and I have done it),” said Shaikh. He went on to tell the court that he had killed Sanghvi because he needed money to pay the monthly instalment for a bike he had recently purchased. “Gaadi ki EMI aur paise ka pressure tha aur mein dekhta tha unko upar-neeche jaate (I was under pressure to pay my bike’s EMI and also was in need of money and I used to see him in the compound),” Shaikh said in court. The magistrate stopped Shaikh from providing any further details of the case, which is still under investigation. Shaikh will be in police custody till September 19.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Zone 3, Avinash Kumar said Shaikh attempted to rob Sanghvi. A scuffle broke out between the two and led to the murder. The incident took place in the parking area on the Wednesday evening, he said.

After committing the crime, the accused stuffed the victim’s body in his car and disposed it in the Thane district, the official said. Shaikh, who also works as a cab driver, later, dumped the car in Navi Mumbai, he added. The vehicle was recovered on Friday with some blood stains on it.

Despite Shaikh’s confession, there are questions that need answering. Most importantly, Sanghvi left the office at 7.30pm, but his car didn’t leave the parking lot till 11.20pm. Until yesterday, the police had suspected professional rivalry to have motivated Sanghvi’s kidnapping, but they are no longer pursuing that angle. DCP said that the motive for Sanghvi’s death appeared to be the robbery and that the investigation was underway.