Thane: A 26-year-old engineer from Mumbra was allegedly beaten to death by his married lover, her husband and two accomplices before his body was stuffed inside a drum and dumped in a secluded drain in Vasai, police said on Friday.

The Mumbra Police Station arrested the 25-year-old woman and her brother in connection with the murder, while her husband and another accused remain absconding. The deceased was identified as Arbaz Maqsood Ali Khan, a resident of Mumbra who worked as an engineer with a real estate developer in Dombivli.

According to police, Khan had been in a relationship since 2021 with Mehajabeen Khatun Ekran Sheikh, a resident of Vasai. Investigators said the two frequently communicated and exchanged romantic messages, but over time Mehajabeen allegedly began demanding money from Khan, who regularly transferred funds to her account.

Police said the relationship deteriorated after Khan allegedly stopped sending her monthly payments, following which Mehajabeen allegedly conspired with her husband Hasan Sheikh, her brother Tariq Sheikh and Tariq’s friend Mojjam Pathan to murder him.

Cops stated Khan had gone to Dadar on April 3 to collect cash related to his company’s work but never returned home. After his father filed a missing complaint, police analysed his call detail records and mobile location data, which allegedly matched Mehajabeen’s location in Vasai on the day he disappeared.

Police also found that Khan had transferred Rs 50,000 to Mehajabeen a day before he went missing. During interrogation, Mehajabeen initially denied involvement but later allegedly confessed to the crime, police said. Cops claimed she had called Khan to her residence in the Bhoidapada area of Vasai, where an argument allegedly broke out over money.

According to police, the accused found no valuables on Khan and later tied his hands and legs before assaulting him with a plastic pipe, causing fatal head injuries. The accused allegedly stuffed Khan’s body into a drum and dumped it in a drain in an isolated area falling under the jurisdiction of Valiv Police Station.

Police arrested Mehajabeen and Tariq on May 7, while efforts are underway to trace Hasan and Pathan. A case has been registered under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including murder, kidnapping, criminal conspiracy and destruction of evidence.

Mumbai: Suburban train services on the Central Railway and the Western Railway will be affected on Sunday, May 17, due to scheduled maintenance work and infrastructure work.  Passengers have been advised to check updated train schedules and plan their journeys accordingly to avoid inconvenience during the block period.

Western Railways will operate on a major night block during the intervening period of May 16th and 17th to launch two spans of foot overbridge girders at Naigaon station using a road crane. The block will be in force on the Up and Down Slow lines from 1 am to 4 am, and on the Up and Down Fast lines from 2.30 am to 3.30 am.

During the block, all fast line trains will run on slow lines between Mumbai Central and Santacruz. DOWN line trains will be operated on the Down fast line between Bhayandar and Vasai Road. Some suburban services will remain cancelled, with details available at suburban station masters’ offices. Western Railway has clarified that there will be no daytime block on Sunday, May 17.

Central Railway will operate a mega block on Sunday on the Main line between Thane and Kalyan and on the Harbour line between Panvel and Vashi for engineering and maintenance works.

On the Main line, the Up and Down fast lines between Thane and Kalyan will remain blocked from 10.40 am to 3.40 pm. Down fast and semi-fast services leaving CSMT from 9.34 am to 3.03 pm will be diverted on the Down slow line between Thane and Kalyan, halting at Kalva, Mumbra and Diva, and will arrive around 10 minutes late.

Up fast and semi-fast services leaving Kalyan from 10.28 am to 3.40 pm will be diverted on the Up slow line between Kalyan and Thane, halting at Diva, Mumbra and Kalva.

On the Harbour line, services between Panvel and Vashi will remain suspended from 11.05 am to 4.05 pm. CSMT-Panvel/Belapur services and Panvel-CSMT services during the block period will remain cancelled. Trans-Harbour services between Thane and Panvel will also be affected, while services between Thane and Vashi/Nerul will remain available.

Railway officials said the blocks are essential for infrastructure upkeep and passenger safety.

Mira-Bhayandar: Taking serious note of the alarming rise in drug trafficking and consumption across the twin cities of Mira-Bhayandar and Vasai-Virar, the local police launched a major crackdown.

Under the leadership of Police Commissioner Niket Kaushik, a special campaign was conducted from April 20 to May 12 with the primary goal of breaking the spine of the drug mafia and saving the younger generation from addiction.

All three sub-divisional offices, two Anti-Narcotics Cells (ANC), and three units of the Crime Branch operating under the Mira Bhayandar-Vasai Virar (MBVV) Police Commissionerate joined forces for this extensive operation.Arrests and Massive Seizures.

According to official police data: 40 traffickers were arrested during the campaign, which includes 6 foreign nationals.Contraband with an estimated international market value of ₹1.90 crore was seized.The confiscated illicit substances include ganja (marijuana), gard (heroin), brown sugar, cocaine, charas, MDMA pills, hydroponic weed, mephedrone, and drug-laced cough syrups.

The police initiated strict preventive actions against 232 habitual narcotics offenders. Additionally, 422 individuals were detained for consuming ganja.

More than 500 cases have been registered under the relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985. The police reiterated that the production, consumption, and trafficking of drugs under the NDPS Act are severe, punishable offenses.

Local citizens have expressed hope that this administrative action will not remain a temporary campaign but will continue consistently to completely eradicate the drug menace from the roots.