Maharashtra: 60-year-old man held for murdering sex worker in Nerul

Days after a woman's body was found stuffed in a drum discarded in Govandi area, the police have arrested a 60-year-old man from Navi Mumbai, identified as Babu Bhagwan Patel.

The police said the body belonged to a sex worker.

According to Shivaji Nagar police, who have registered a case of muder, Patel allegedly killed her in Nerul, stuffed the body in a plastic drum and transported it to Shivaji Nagar in Govandi in a tempo on May 11, dumping it there. The body was found by the locals.

While probing the case, it had become difficult for the police to find any leads, they said. The identity of the woman was not known to them at the time, they said.

But the police scanned CCTV footage in the area and found that the drum was transported in a yellow-coloured tempo, following which the transporter was traced. He led the police to Patel.

"After we interrogated Patel, he confessed to the crime. However, he is not revealing the motive behind the crime. The deceased woman was 40 years old. She worked as a sex worker in Navi Mumbai. We suspect that a dispute over money led to the murder," said an officer from Shivaji Nagar police.