Wajid Qureshi (28), the second attacker in builder Sunil Kumar Lohiya’s murder case, had shaved off his head to hoodwink the police and witnesses. Qureshi had managed to escape the chasing crowd on February 16, while his accomplice Venkatesh Shettiar (35) was caught after shooting and stabbing Lohiya.
“He was caught from Mumbra on Sunday and produced in court on Monday, which remanded him to police custody till February 22,” said senior PI Raosaheb Sardesai of Vashi police station.
“After he escaped to Mumbra, where he lives, he shaved his head. He also discarded his clothes to destroy evidence. We, however, managed to identify him through our informants and took him into custody. We will now record the barber’s statement to prove that he tried changing his identity and produce the fact in court,” said a police official involved in the investigation.
Meanwhile, Sandeep, the son of Lohiya claimed that he received a call on Monday threatening him to quit naming Suresh Bijlani as a suspect. “I received the call at around 2 pm and the caller said I would meet the same fate as my father if I kept naming Bijlani,” he said. Senior police inspector Suresh Bhosale of Turbhe police station said they have a registered a case for criminal intimidation under the IPC and have also taken the number from which the call was received.
The police suspects Shettiar is trying to gain foothold in the underworld and wanted to “earn a name for himself” for which he committed such a daring murder. “We believe that by such an audacious attack, he might be sending a statement to the business community from whom he can later extort money and also to local gangs.”
The biggest arrest is of former encounter specialist Emmanuel Amolik on Sunday. Amolik and Lohiya reportedly fought over a parking issue a month ago. “Amolik told us the incident severely hurt his ego and he wanted to redeem his honour,” said a police source.