Three held for killing waiter who tried to fight off robbery attempt

NAVI MUMBAI: A day after a waiter was murdered for fighting off a robbery attempt in Vashi, three persons were arrested on Friday. The accused have been identified as Muhammad Ali Mubarak Sheikh, 21, a resident of sector 15 in Nerul, while the other two- Shahnawaz Hanif Sheikh, 22, and Imran Yakub Ali Sheikh, 33, are from Mumbra. Imran is a historysheeter and has cases against him at Oshiwara, Goregaon and Borivali police stations, said a police officer.

The victim, Mukesh alias Mantu Kumar Yadav, 26 years old, was killed while attempting to protect a polythene bag containing tissue papers, fruits, and water. The incident occurred in the early hours of Thursday outside Kinara Hotel, sector 11, Vashi. The police said all three accused had consumed ganja in Malad and were intoxicated when they killed Mukesh.

According to CCTV footage, Mukesh was waiting for a bus around 4:55 am when two unidentified men on a bike approached him and attempted to snatch the bag. “When Mukesh resisted, they hit him on his head, forehead, and hand with a weapon before running away. Mukesh called for help, and a nearby building’s watchman came out and saw the attackers fleeing. When the watchman tried to stop the person riding a pillion, he was also attacked before both of them escaped,” police inspector Sanjay Nale from Vashi police station said. The watchman, Dinesh Jagdish Yadav, sustained minor injuries in the process and alerted the authorities about the attempted robbery.

Mukesh, originally from Jharkhand, had been working in a bar in Koparkhairane for the past five years before joining Kinara Hotel two months ago.

After the crime was reported, the crime branch and Vashi police jointly started investigating the case and found CCTV footage and technical evidence which led them to Mumbra and the accused were eventually arrested. The weapon used in the crime is yet to be recovered. The accused would be produced before the court on Saturday.

“We are also investigating if they had tried to rob anyone else while going from Malad to Mumbra,” said police inspector Sunil Shinde, central unit, crime branch.