NCP (SP) Raigad president missing, body of acquaintance found in Pen

NAVI MUMBAI: The police on Friday found the body of a real estate agent, who had gone missing from Navi Mumbai on Wednesday, dumped near Pen in Raigad district. However, they are still searching for Amir Khaanzada, president of the Raigad district unit of the Nationalist Congress Party, who was with the slain real estate agent, Sumit Jain, at the time of the disappearance.
On Thursday, the vehicle in which the duo travelled, a Baleno car, was found abandoned at Khalapur on Mumbai-Pune expressway, with marks of gunshots. With no clarity on the crime, Navi Mumbai police formed 12 teams led by three assistant commissioners of police (crime) to investigate the matter – seven of crime branch, five of Nerul police .
“Each team is assigned with different tasks like visiting different places, scanning through CCTVs to retrace the journey undertaken by the duo and gathering evidence pertaining to the case. Forensic teams have been called in to aid the investigation process,” said deputy commissioner of police, zone 1, Pankaj Dahane.
The deceased resided with his family in sector 4 of Nerul whereas Khaanzada, still considered to be missing, is originally from Murud, Raigad.
Earlier on Thursday, a missing complaint was lodged with the Nerul police after the family members were unable to connect with both the men and neither had returned since leaving their respective homes at 11 pm on Wednesday.
Both the men were involved in real estate and had regular business meetings.
“On Wednesday, the men left their homes to attend some meetings. Family members were concerned as both did not return through the night and the following day, their mobile phones were also switched off,” said a police official from Nerul.
On Thursday, using a GPS tracker, the vehicle in which the men had travelled was located to Khalapur expressway where it was found abandoned. The matter turned serious after police found a cracked rear side window with a bullet mark and two bullet shells on the seat. “There were blood stains and broken glass pieces on the seat. These raised questions about the whereabouts of the persons and motive,” said a police officer from Nerul.
In a further development on Friday, the body of Jain was found amidst bushes near Gagode village in Pen. The body was sent for post-mortem while police intensified their search for Khaanzada. The dog squad was also deployed to locate him.