Thane court sends Dawood 'mentor' to police custody till Dec 22 in murder case of 2022

Thane, Dec 16 (PTI) A Thane court on Tuesday remanded gangster Subhash Singh Thakur, arrested in a 2022 murder case of a property developer, to police custody till December 22.

Thakur, believed to be the mentor of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, was taken into custody by the Mira Bhayander-Vasai Virar (MBVV) police in Maharashtra from Fatehgarh Central Jail in Uttar Pradesh on Monday.

He was booked for the murder of property developer Samay Chauhan (32) in the Manvelpada area of Virar in Palghar district in February 2022. Provisions of the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) were also invoked against him.

Thakur was brought to Virar on Monday night on a transit remand.

On Tuesday, he was produced before the Thane-based court of Special Judge VG Mohite, who remanded him to police custody till December 22, said a police official who is part of the probe team.

The police will interrogate Thakur over his alleged involvement in the 2022 murder case, he said.

A property dispute between local builder Rahul Dubey and Chauhan had triggered the contractual killing of the latter, sources in the police earlier said.

He was shot dead by two motorbike-borne assailants.

Dubey had been arrested in Balia, Bihar. The shooters were identified as Manish Singh and Rahul Sharma (34). Sharma and his accomplice, Abhishek Singh (30), were nabbed from Varanasi on March 29.

The prosecution alleged Thakur played a pivotal role in the conspiracy, specifically acting as the mastermind who issued 'supari' (contract) for the daylight killing of Chauhan.

Speaking to the media outside court premises, a prosecution lawyer detailed the grounds for seeking custody of the gangster.

Investigators aim to uncover exact financial dealings involved in the contract killing, he said.

"In the money dealing, how much these people received needs to be probed. The exact amount of the contract for killing Samay Chauhan is likely to be clarified during this period," he stated.

Police informed the court that accused No. 13 (Akilesh Tiwari) has claimed he disposed of murder weapons based on instructions from Thakur. Police need to recover these weapons and mobile phones used during the commission of the crime, said the prosecution lawyer.

While 14 accused have been named in the case so far, the police believe Thakur's interrogation may reveal involvement of more individuals, he said.

After hearing the prosecution's arguments, the court granted 6-day police custody of the gangster. PTI COR GK RSY