Drug-addict held in south Mumbai murder case

Updated at 6:11 pm

MUMBAI: The Mumbai Police has arrested a 25-year-old drug addict in connection with the murder of a youth in South Mumbai on Sunday and also suspects him of stabbing a 20-year-old migrant two days ago, police said on Saturday.

Mohammed Salaam Shaikh (25) was arrested from the Marine Lines area late on Friday night and produced before a local court, which remanded him to police custody till March 13.

Police are, however, tightlipped as to his connection with the serial murders case.

"We had made several detentions following the murder and arrested Shaikh following some leads that came out during interrogations," Additional Commissioner of Police (South Region) D Kanakratnam said.

According to him, Shaikh is a native of West Bengal and had been staying on South Mumbai streets for over seven years.

When asked if Shaikh knew the alleged serial killer Ravindra Kantrolle or about his motive, Kanakratnam said, "We cannot reveal anything as investigations are underway currently."

Following the discovery of the youth's body on Sunday, Mumbai police, which has formed a special investigation team to investigate into at least seven instances of unsolved murders in South Mumbai in similar circumstances, alleged that some accomplices of Kantrolle can be involved in the case.

The decomposing body of the youth was found bearing multiple stab wounds on his chest and a head injury.

On March 1, Rajiv Gupta, a migrant from Uttar Pradesh was allegedly attacked by an unidentified person multiple times near Grant Road itself, further fuelling suspicions about the serial killer being at large.