11-yr-old murder case solved, accused held in WB

The Thane police today claimed to have solved an 11-year-old murder case with the arrest of the accused from Purulia district in West Bengal.
On July 23, 2005, Munir Sharif Shah (then aged 22), was allegedly killed by an unidentified man at Katrap road in Badlapur township of Thane district, Senior Police Inspector, Thane Crime Branch unit-I, Niteen Thackeray said today.
The police had then registered an offence under IPC section 302 (murder) and launched an investigation.
In the course of the probe, it came to light that a person, Duriyadan Karali Mahato (then aged around 30), from Banjora village under Barabazar police station limits in Purulia district of WB had allegedly killed the victim.

A search was carried out for him, but in vain, and a charge sheet was filed at a Thane court in March 2006.
However, recently, after nearly 11 years of the crime, police got a tip-off that the accused was spotted at the village in Purulia.

Subsequently, a team of Thane Crime Branch sleuths went there and with the assistance of their WB counterparts, they nabbed the accused on December 24, he said.
According to police, the interrogation of the accused revealed that there was a dispute between the victim and him over payment for a painting work undertaken by them.

Following the dispute, the accused had allegedly attacked the victim on his head with an iron rod and also slit his throat, police said.
Meanwhile, the accused was brought from WB to Thane and yesterday produced before a court which remanded him police custody, they added.