Police arrest scrap dealer for fatal bamboo stick beating in CBD Belapur
The Navi Mumbai Crime Branch Unit-II has arrested a 35-year-old scrap dealer in Bhiwandi for allegedly beating his colleague to death with a bamboo stick in Sector 15, CBD Belapur. The arrest of Mohammad Irfan Ansari occurred within 24 hours of the incident, which took place around 1:00 AM on Thursday, July 2026.
The victim, identified as 25-year-old Salman Anwar Shaikh, was a resident of Govandi. According to the police, both the victim and the accused worked as scrap dealers and had been staying in an abandoned building in the CBD Belapur area.
Preliminary investigations by the police revealed that Shaikh was addicted to narcotic substances and frequently became aggressive after consuming them. On the night of the incident, at approximately 1:00 AM, Shaikh allegedly picked a quarrel with Ansari over a trivial matter while under the influence of narcotics.
The argument turned violent when Shaikh allegedly assaulted Ansari. In retaliation, Ansari allegedly struck Shaikh repeatedly on his head and body using a bamboo stick, leaving him critically injured. Shaikh collapsed on a footpath in Sector 15 and succumbed to his injuries shortly afterwards. Ansari then switched off his mobile phone and fled the scene.
The NRI Coastal Police registered a First Information Report (FIR) against an unknown individual under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Since there were no eyewitnesses and the identities of both the deceased and the assailant were initially unknown, the Crime Branch Unit-II launched a parallel investigation to solve the case.
A police team led by Senior Police Inspector Anil Patil, Assistant Police Inspector Abhijit Patil, and Police Sub-Inspector Sanjay Pawar painstakingly analyzed CCTV footage, carried out technical surveillance, and gathered local intelligence. This allowed them to establish Shaikh's identity before tracing Ansari's movements.
The investigation eventually led the police team to Bhiwandi, where they laid a trap and arrested Ansari. A Crime Branch officer noted that the case was particularly challenging due to the lack of initial clues and eyewitnesses, but meticulous analysis of technical inputs and field intelligence allowed them to crack the case within 24 hours.
