A woman accused in a 2020 murder case in Maharashtra’s Palghar district has been arrested from Mumbai after evading capture for over five years, police said on Sunday, reported news agency PTI.
The accused, 27-year-old Dolrin Afrin Ahmed Khan, a resident of Nallasopara, allegedly strangulated 23-year-old Pradeep Dayashankar Rai to death on February 12, 2020, at Arnala in Palghar. She then staged the crime scene to appear as a suicide, according to Assistant Commissioner of Police (Crime) Madan Ballal.
A preliminary investigation indicated a monetary dispute between the accused and the victim, a resident of Badlapur in neighbouring Thane district, as the likely motive behind the crime.
An FIR was registered under Sections 302 (murder) and 201 (destruction of evidence) of the Indian Penal Code.
As Dolrin remained absconding, police filed a chargesheet under Section 299 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), which allows recording evidence in the absence of an absconding accused.
Over the past four months, police intensified efforts to locate her. Acting on a specific tip-off, she was found in Kandivali, Mumbai, and arrested on October 10. She has now been handed over to Arnala police for further investigation, Ballal said.
