Mira-Bhayandar: Nearly 23 years after he brutally murdered his sister-in-law (elder brother’s first wife) the accused (now aged 52-year-old) was arrested by the central crime unit (CCU) attached to the Mira Bhayandar-Vasai Virar (MBVV) police.

The gruesome killing which dates back to 3, June, 2002 was reported from a flat located in a building in the Chandansar area of Virar. According to the police, the accused who has been identified as- Mahmad Tabrez Ansari murdered his brothers first wife-Shabana Parveen by slitting her throat and fled with her five-month-old baby boy.

Tabrez was against his brother’s marriage with Shabana. The anger turned into hatred which apparently triggered the crime. Based on the complaint registered by the woman’s husband Mahmad Feroz Ansari, an offence under sections 302 (murder) and 363 (kidnapping) of the IPC was registered at the Virar police station on 6, June, 2022.

Initially, the second wife of the complainant who was also named as an accused in the FIR, surrendered before the police in 2015 and was later acquitted by the court. However, Mahmad Tabrez Ansari could not be arrested by the erstwhile investigating team.

“While re-investigating cold cases that have not yet been fully resolved, our team led by API Dattray Sarak got crucial leads regarding Tabrez Ansari’s presence in Dombivali.” said police inspector Aviraj Kurhade.

The team activated their informer network and fanned the entire area. Acting on a tip-off the team arrested him from the Kolegaon area of Dombivali where he had started a garage and was living in a nearby area by assuming a new identity to evade arrest. Meanwhile the kidnapped infant, now aged 22 years, was reunited with his father.