Body on Mahim beach: Murder seems to have been carefully planned

The suitcase with body parts that had washed ashore at Mahim

Over 24 hours after recovering a suitcase stuffed with human body parts from Mahim, the forensic department of Sion hospital has managed to extract fingerprints from the arm found inside the bag. Experts have given the fingerprints to cops, claiming they have found ink in the capillary veins which indicates the deceased must have voted recently.

Another interesting aspect which has come in light that, the bag in which body was found is used for international tours having single key and combination.

The bag that washed ashore behind Mahim dargah on Monday evening was first noticed by the dargah visitors. When opened, a human arm and leg and a male private part covered in polythene bags were found inside it. "It's a left arm and right leg below the knee. There is also a male private part inside.

The bag and limbs were sent to Sion Hospital for analysis which has given an important breakthrough to cops. A forensic team has extracted a fingerprint from the dead body's arm. "We have managed to extract fingerprints, also during the examination, we have found traces of ink used during voting" told Dr Rajesh Dere, Head of Forensic Department, Sion Hospital. "Cops can identify the dead body with the help of this fingerprint. Also, striking thing is, the travelling bag inside which parts have been found is used in international tour and is of premium quality. Such bags are coded and have a single key," Dr Dere added. "According to us, the limbs are of a male but we are yet to confirm through DNA tests. The murder must have committed atleast 3 to 4 days ago," he said. Apart from limbs, there were two shirts and three pants in it, too," a police source said, adding, "One shirt is readymade while the other one is stitched in Mumbai. We have tracked down the tailor."

Crime Branch unit V, conducting a parallel investigation in the case has confirmed the tailor is from Kurla. "The tailor was tracked down on Monday night itself. We have seized his records with bills that have pieces of cloth attached. It might help us track down who had gotten the shirt stitched," a crime branch officer said, adding, "It is really tough to zero in on the customer with the help of receipts as one cannot predict when the shirt was stitched and whether he had preserved the bill with all the customer's details. But we are hopeful of finding some clue." One of the pants found inside had a tag reading 'The Firenze Colleczione Italy'.

"It's premature to comment on the progress of the case. Our challenge is to identify the body of the deceased," said Milind Gadankush, senior Inspector at Mahim police station.

Five teams have been formed to track down from where the body must have been thrown in the water. CCTV cameras of Bandra-Worli sea link also have been screened. The police are also trying to find out the seller of the bag and other details regarding it.

The body parts have been cut with fineness leading investigators to believe that they have been cut by a machine or blade. It also seems like a planned murder to them given the effort to destroy evidence.

An offence against an unknown person, under IPC section 201 (causing disappearance of evidence) and 302 (murder) was registered at Mahim police station on Tuesday.

4.30 pm
Time on Monday evening when the bag washed ashore

5
No. of pieces of clothing found inside the bag

3
No. of body parts found inside the bag

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