The matter came to light late Friday after Shehbaz failed to return home and did not even answer phone calls. That is when his father lodged a missing person complaint at Khadakapada police station in Kalyan.
During the enquiry, the police learnt from Shehbaz’s father that his son had crossed swords with his live-in partner’s family members who did not approve of their relationship.
On the basis of the father’s complaint, the police detained the two brothers and their friend. During inquiry, the three confessed to having kidnapped and hit a hammer on his head and then throwing the body off Rayta bridge into Ulhas river.
Shehbaz and his live-in parter had had a fight Friday evening when he walked out of the house with one of their children, to go to his parents’ place. As he left the house, the three men bumped into him. They took the child back to their sister and dragged Shehbaz into an autorickshaw. The sister informed Shehbaz’s parents about her brothers ‘kidnapping’.
A police official said that their primary investigation has revealed that the three accused men were not too happy that Shehbaz had frequent quarrels with their sister. “They have confessed to killing him…,” a police officer said, adding that the man is still to be fished out.
The three men wanted to get back at Shehbaz for the “ill-treatment” he meted out to their sister, said an officer. “That’s when the brothers decided to teach Shehbaz a lesson and they roped their friend in to execute their plan.”
The police said that the flow of the river water is heavy due to rain, but the search will resume on Sunday. Senior inspector Sarjerao Patil formed a team led by assistant inspector Anil Gaikwad to solve the case.
