Man held for abducting, killing woman in Navi Mumbai

A man hailing from Tamil Nadu has

been arrested for allegedly abducting a 56-year-old woman from outside a bank in Navi Mumbai and shooting her dead earlier this week, a top police officer said on Thursday.

The accused, Ashok Kumar Murugan Konar (42), who is originally from Tirunelveli in Tamil Nadu and presently lives in Panvel in Raigad district of Maharashtra, was arrested on Wednesday evening, Navi Mumbai Police Commissioner Sanjay Kumar said.

Based on a tip-off, the police laid a trap and arrested the accused at Kharghar in Navi Mumbai, he added.

According to police, the incident had taken place on Monday afternoon when the victim, Prabhavati Bhagat, was sitting inside the car waiting for her husband who had gone inside a bank at Ulwe node of Navi Mumbai.

 

An unidentified man had entered the car and started driving it towards nearby Wahal village, where he pulled out a revolver and shot her. Her husband later tried contacting her, but failed to reach her. The woman was later taken to a hospital, where she was declared brought dead, police added.

"The police had launched a probe after the incident. Considering the seriousness of the case, the police formed several teams. The CCTV footage recovered from the crime scene helped in tracing the accused," Kumar said.

"On Wednesday, we got a tip-off that the accused will be coming to Kharghar from Taloja. Accordingly, we laid a trap and nabbed him around 6 pm," he said, adding that one pistol, nine live cartridges and a mobile phone were recovered from him.

During his interrogation, Konar revealed that he had stolen several vehicles in Mumbai and Kolkata in the past, the commissioner said.

"He also revealed that the car in which he came to Kharghar on Wednesday was stolen from Vashi. He had started using the vehicle after changing its number plate," Kumar said.

A case has been registered against the accused at NRI Police Station in Navi Mumbai. He has been booked under IPC sections 364 (kidnapping or abducting in order to murder), 302 (murder), the Arms Act and others, police said.