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Follow UsThane, Jul 30 (PTI) Two days after the body of a 20-year-old woman was found near Uran railway station in Navi Mumbai, the police have arrested a man from Karnataka for allegedly killing her, a senior official said.
The accused, Dawood Shaikh, was apprehended from the Shahapur area of Gulbarga in neighbouring Karnataka, a deputy commissioner of police said.
According to the police, the victim's father had lodged a police complaint against the accused, based on which a case under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act was registered in 2019.
Talking to reporters, Additional Police Commissioner (Crime) Deepak Sakore said the victim and Shaikh had been in touch with each other and had met on the day of the murder.
A heated argument between the two may have led to the killing, but the exact motive behind the crime is not yet clear, and a probe is on, he said.
The woman's body was found around 2 am on Saturday after her parents filed a missing persons report on July 25.
According to police, the victim, who worked in Belapur, had taken a half-day leave.
A case under section 103 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) was registered against an unidentified person, and eight teams were formed to trace the accused, they said.
The police had initially detained several suspects whose information led them to Shaikh, the official said.
The autopsy report confirmed that the victim died of stab wounds, he said.
Sakore said Shaikh had lived in Uran for some time but went to Karnataka after the victim's father lodged a police complaint against him, and a POCSO case was registered in 2019.
The accused worked as a driver in the neighbouring state, and the victim remained in touch with him, he said.
The woman's mobile phone has not been recovered, and efforts are underway to trace it, the official said, adding that Shaikh has confessed to the crime and arrangements are being made to bring him to Navi Mumbai for further questioning. PTI COR NP ARU