MBBS student case: Two crucial witnesses led to duo’s arrest

Navy divers along with Mumbai Crime Branch prepare to search the sea for the body of the MBBS student, on Friday. Pic/Ashish Raje

Two months of secret investigation led to the arrest of Mithu Singh and his friend Abdul Jabbar Ansari for the alleged kidnapping of the missing MBBS student, the Crime Branch told mid-day on Friday. Even though a narco test in April last year gave a clean chit to Singh, the cops kept a watch in the area and got five crucial witnesses who spilled the beans.

Officers of the Unit 09 of Mumbai Crime Branch said the surveillance team interacted with hundreds of people during the course of investigation, while maintaining full secrecy, and found the witnesses whose testimony helped them make the arrest.

The first clue

A witness told the police he saw Singh rush towards the sea with a life jacket and lifebuoy (or floating ring) on November 29. The witness also revealed that Ansari slept at Singh's hotel that night even though his house is just 2 minutes away.

"The lead was very crucial, as it revealed Singh's suspicious behaviour. He was so confident. In fact, he had helped the Boisar and Bandra police while they were searching for the victim's body, but he never told the cops why he went to the sea with a lifebuoy and a life jacket," a Crime Branch officer said.

Second crucial clue

Another witness told the police that he had found the victim's ID card, but he was forced to destroy it. Singh's family, however, claimed that the person who found that ID card sent a photo of it to the former's sister-in-law through WhatsApp. She then sent it to her husband (Singh's brother), who forwarded it to Mithu Singh, who said he couldn't identify the girl then as she looked quite young. "The witness said that he was asked to destroy the ID card and delete the photo," the officer said.

Based on all the evidence they had collected, the cops called in Singh for questioning and he was not able to explain anything, the officer said. The Crime Branch then arrested him, and a day later, his friend. Police said Singh has confessed to killing the girl and dumping her body in the sea.

Singh's sister, however, told mid-day, "We are sure that my brother is innocent and he has done nothing wrong. On Thursday, when police brought him home for searches, he told me not to worry as he has not done anything wrong."

Also Read: Mumbai cops, Navy divers scour sea for body of MBBS student who went missing in 2021

Divers search the sea

Meanwhile, the Crime Branch along with eight Navy and a few private divers searched the sea for the body. During the two-hour operation, divers went 55 feet deep, but couldn't find anything as the visibility was zero, said the cops. The search operation will continue tomorrow. "Based on the confession given by the accused, we have carried out searches in the sea. We will be proving the possible motives for the murder," said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Detection 1) Krishna Kant Upadhyay.

On Friday evening, a Crime Branch team took Ansari to his house at Bandra Bandstand and recovered the safety ring that was stored in a toilet opposite Singh's house. Singh was also taken to his Bandstand house where fresh searches were conducted and he identified the safety ring, which he allegedly took to dump the student's body.