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Even after four days, there is no clue about the man, who went 'missing' with Sumit Jain, 35, whose body with bullet and stab injuries was found in the bushes of the Gogada village along the Pen-Khopoli road on Friday.
This has led the cops to suspect that untraceable Aamir Khanzade, 40, NCP president of south Raigad, could be an accused on the run. A land deal gone wrong could be possibly the murder motive. However, investigation is yet to confirm the theories.
On August 21, the duo had left their homes in Nerul around 11pm, saying that they were going for a meeting with a 'VIP'. Khanzada's phone is switched off, while that of Jain is also missing.
“Prima facie, Jain had a bullet as well as a stab injury on his knee and thigh, respectively. The cause of the death can be ascertained only after the post mortem, which will take at least a week's time,” said a police officer involved in the investigations.
A case of Jain's murder has been registered with the Nerul police. The local cops and crime branch are conducting a parallel investigation. A total of 12 teams, including seven from the crime branch, are probing the perplexing matter.
Both Jain and Khanzada, real estate agents, knew each other for a few years. They were residents of Nerul sector 4 and 27, respectively. For the last week, they have been going to such late night meetings. However, they didn't return after they left on Wednesday night.
On Thursday, a missing persons complaint was lodged and Khanzada's car, in which they travelled, was found near Food mall, Khalapur, at the Mumbai-Pune expressway. The vehicle had a bullet mark on the rear side and two bullet shells were found inside with blood stains. The police are backtracking the car's journey with the help of CCTV footage.
