Man wanted for killing of businessmen in Daman held in Mumbai

A 44-year-old man, who allegedly killed two businessmen in Daman over business rivalry along with others was arrested here today, a police official said.

Mohammed Hasan Abdul Ajiz Siddhiqui was arrested by the Crime Branch Unit-3 from Byculla, Central Mumbai, over one -and-a-half months after the crime. He was nabbed after being tracked for more than 72 hours by Crime Branch sleuths, the official said.

On April 1, Siddhiqui and his five aides had allegedly opened fire in a restaurant at Dabhel in Daman, resulting in the killing of Ajay Raman Patel (35) and Dhirendra Patel (34), both businessman, said Jagdish Sail, Senior Police Inspector of Crime Branch Unit-3.

All the assailants fled the spot and an offence of murder was later registered at the Nani Daman Police Station against them, he said.

The whole incident was captured on the CCTV cameras installed in the restaurant and Siddhiqui was spotted shooting, he said.

Ajay Patel and Dhirendra Patel were in the business of gutkha and scrap and had rivalry with Siddhiqui, who also dealt in the same items, since the last few years, the official said.

Earlier, Siddhiqui was allegedly in the business of transporting Daman-made liquor to states like Maharashtra. After demonetisation in 2016, he was shifted to scrap business, he said.

A few local groups were also involved in the scrap business and Siddhiqui took their help to eliminate Ajay Patel and Dhirendra Patel, he said.

Siddhiqui arranged men from Uttar Pradesh and they took part in the attack on the businessmen in the restaurant, he said.

"We have handed over the accused person to the Daman Police and their investigation in the case in on," he added.

Siddhiqui is the first accused to be arrested in the murder case.