One month on, man held from Nepal for woman's murder in Turbhe village

Navi Mumbai: Following a month-long probe into the murder of a 50-year-old woman stabbed in an under-construction building in Sector 22, Turbhe village, on March 13, APMC police have arrested the accused after tracing him to Nepal.Senior inspector Ajay Shinde identified the accused as Mohammad Akhtar, 28, a Bihar native who worked as a fruit vendor in the APMC market. The victim, initially unidentified, was later confirmed as Marjina Mondal. She had been working as a domestic help for over 15 years for building owner Shankar Bhoir, who had allowed her to stay at the site. Her body was discovered by supervisor Jayasuddin Khan, who filed the complaint. Mondal was allegedly involved in sex trade. During the investigation, police detained nearly 70 fruit market hawkers from West Bengal and Bihar who were allegedly involved in sex trade. for questioning. Mondal's call records revealed contact with a man she was allegedly in a relationship with, but his involvement was ruled out. Suspicion then fell on Akhtar, who had gone missing after the crime and switched off his phone. Police tracked him to his hometown in Kishanganj, Bihar, near the Nepal border, but learnt he had fled to Nepal.Using technical surveillance, his location was traced to the Beldangi refugee camp in Jhapa district, Nepal. With assistance from Nepal Police, Akhtar was detained and handed over to Indian authorities at the border last week.During interrogation, Akhtar confessed to the crime. He told police he had paid Mondal Rs 450 to arrange sexual services, but when this did not materialise, he demanded a refund. Following an argument, he stabbed her and fled. Police recovered the knife from the scene and seized his blood-stained clothes. After six days in police custody, he has been remanded to judicial custody.