Thane Crime: 21-Year-Old Arrested In Bhiwandi For Murder Of Power Loom Owner Over Alleged Sexual Harassment

The Thane Crime Branch Unit Two arrested a 21-year-old man from Jaunpur on Saturday for allegedly murdering a power loom owner by attacking him with a stone and a sharp weapon. The accused claimed he committed the crime after the victim allegedly demanded unnatural sex and used abusive language.

The accused has been identified as Kajukumar Rajendra Ram, 21, originally from Kerakat village in the Jaunpur district of Uttar Pradesh. Police said Ram had been living with his father in Bhiwandi for several years and worked in a power loom unit, through which he came to know the deceased, Farhad Eklakh Ahmad Shaikh.

According to the Shantinagar Police, on April 12, Shaikh left his home around 10:30 a.m. on his motorcycle to meet a caterer in Bhiwandi. However, he did not return that night. His family began searching for him but were unable to trace his whereabouts. They eventually filed a missing person complaint at the Shantinagar Police Station. On April 16, a decomposed body was found in an isolated area in Karivli, Bhiwandi.

Police said CCTV footage from a nearby locality showed Shaikh riding his motorcycle with a man as pillion toward Karivli. Based on this footage, Shaikh's motorcycle was traced to the jurisdiction of the Bhoiwada Police Station. His decomposed body, found in the bushes, was sent to Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital in Bhiwandi for a post-mortem examination.

Janardhan Sonawane, Senior Police Inspector from Thane Crime Branch Unit Two, said, “One team was dispatched to Jaunpur based on technical intelligence, which indicated the accused's location. We arrested him in Jaunpur and produced him in court, where he was granted transit remand. He was brought to Bhiwandi, produced in the Bhiwandi court, and sent to police custody for further investigation. During interrogation, we learned that the deceased allegedly abused him and demanded sexual favors, which led to the fatal attack.”

The investigating officer further revealed that the accused was using the victim’s mobile phone and had even sent a WhatsApp message to a family member demanding ransom.