With the arrest of three persons, including a woman, police claimed to have solved the Malvani triple murder case.
Salman Akbar Shaikh (26), his wife Shabana Shaikh alias Anam (25) and their friend Salman Mohammad Ahmed Shaikh (22), were apprehended on Saturday from Valsad in Gujarat by sleuths of the crime branch, a senior police official said.
46-year-old Babli Sahu and her two grandchildren — Aryan (12) and Sania (9) were found brutally murdered on June 23 at their residence in suburban Malwani with their bodies having multiple stab wounds.
Salman Akbar and Anam had conspired to kill Sahu to rob hefty cash from his house, police said in a release.
Sahu was involved in liquor sale and flesh trade, it said.
Anam and Sahu resided in the same neighbourhood. Anam used to bring customers for Sahu’s flesh trade and in-return took commission.
During a recent visit to Sahu’s house, Anam had learnt that the former had kept hefty cash inside a cupboard, police said.
Subsequently, Anam, along with her husband Salman Akbar and friend Salman Mohammad, hatched a conspiracy to kill Sahu and flee with the money, they said.
On the night of June 22, when Sahu’s grandchildren were asleep, the trio visited the victim’s house. Anam introduced the two men as clients.
The trio had an argument with Sahu when one of the men took out a knife and stabbed her several times, they added.
Meanwhile, the other two tried to break the cupboard but did not succeed. Later, the trio noticed Sahu’s grandchildren were awake and saw them commit the crime.
Considering this as a threat, they murdered them as well, police said.
A mobile phone and bloodstained clothes were recovered from the accused’s possession, police added.
