Thane Crime Branch Arrests Third Accused In MNS Leader’s Murder Case

Thane: The Thane crime branch police on Monday arrested a person  accused in the murder of MNS leader Jamil Shaikh, who was gunned down by two assailants on a bike in Rabodi area in November 2020.

The arrested man has been identified as Habib Shaikh, 36, who was linked with the wanted prime accused Osama Shaikh, crime branch sources said. Through technical details and interrogation of two other accused arrested in the case, they learnt that Habib Shaikh was in touch with the main shooter Osama Shaikh, who has been absconding.

An officer said, “Habib was on our radar since his link with the wanted accused Osama was established. We were searching for him through social media (videos, pictures) and other sources and got his details which led to his arrest.”

Efforts underway to nab Osama

The police continue to search for prime accused Osama and his arrest is likely to throw light on the crime’s possible link with political parties. Two unidentified persons on a bike opened fire on Jamil Shaikh, 49, in broad daylight, killing him in Rabodi in November 2020. 

Jamil, president of one of the civic wards in Thane, had stood for Thane Municipal Corporation election twice from Rabodi on a MNS ticket and was an active party worker. The bike riders were wearing helmets and hence could not be identified initially, but after analyzing all CCTV footage and technical details, two accused were arrested. Irfan Sonu Shaikh, 24, a shooter and Shahid Shaikh, 31, who allegedly provided shelter to Irfan and later escaped from the spot, were arrested in the case. After the murder, Irfan first fled to Nashik and took a bus to Gorakhpur, where he was hiding for a few days, and recently moved to Lucknow from where he was arrested. During his questioning, Irfan told the police that the contract to kill Jamil was given to them by Osama for a sum of ₹2 lakh.