Political party worker, constable masterminds: Kin of other accused

[Khan and Nikhat] were told that a prank scene was going to be shot, for which they needed a young woman, and that cameras would be fit in the car. ACCUSED NIKHAT KHAN’S RELATIVE

MUMBAI: Family members of two accused in the murder of Rajeshwar Udani – Shahista Khan and her niece Nikhat Mohammed Umar Khan – have claimed that the real perpetrators are the prime accused, Ghatkopar-based political worker Sachin Pawar and constable Dinesh Pawar.

The Pant Nagar police on Tuesday arrested Mahesh Prabhakar Bhoir, 31, Khan, 41, and Nikhat, 20.

A relative of Khan said, “Khan is a beautician while Nikhat is an aspiring television actor. Khan had tied a rakhi to Sachin and had known him as he is an influential person due to his political connections.”

“Both of them were told that a prank scene was going to be shot in the car, for which they needed a young woman. They were told that cameras would be fitted in the car. They even told Nikhat that the scene would be very realistic and to not panic,” the relative said.

However, the prosecution said that even though Nikhat was present in the car during the time of the murder, she did not report it to the police.

“We seek police custody to investigate whether money exchanged hands between the accused. It should also be investigated as to where the accused went after committing the crime,” the prosecution told the court.

Meanwhile, a friend of Mahesh told HT that he and Dinesh knew each other as they are both body-builders and dealt in health supplements.

As per police investigations, Sachin contacted Khan and told her that Udani had refused to pay him ₹2 crore.

He told her that he needed help recovering the money. Khan then arranged for Nikhat to act as a honeytrap for Udani.