mumbai

Updated: Oct 16, 2018 13:42 IST

A 20-year-old student was arrested on Monday for the murder of an aspiring model. The victim was identified as Mansi Dixit. Initial investigations suggest Dixit was murdered by the accused, Muzammil Sayyed, who allegedly strangled her, stuffed her body in a suitcase and then dumped it in Malad. Police arrested Sayyed on Monday evening.

According to the Bangur Nagar police, 20-year-old Dixit was from Rajasthan and had come to Mumbai to become a model. The police believe Dixit met Sayyed, a student, on the internet. The two had met at Sayyed’s apartment in Andheri on Monday afternoon and after an argument, Sayyed allegedly hit Dixit with a blunt object and then strangled her to death.

“The accused then stuffed the body in a suitcase and hailed a private cab from Andheri to Malad. He then dumped the body near Mindspace, in the cover of mangroves and fled from the spot,” said an officer, requesting anonymity. This happened between 3pm and 4pm.

The police were alerted to Dixit’s murder by the driver of the cab that Sayyed had hired. The driver saw Sayyed dumping the bag and leaving the spot in a rickshaw. He then called the police to report Sayyed’s actions. The police reached the spot within minutes and found Dixit’s body in the abandoned suitcase. Sources said the rope that was used to strangle her was intact around her neck.

Using CCTV footage, the police traced the rickshaw that Sayyed had hailed and were able to arrest him. Deputy commissioner of police Sangramsinh Nishandar, zone XI, said, “We have lodged a first information report (FIR) under murder sections of the Indian Penal Code and have arrested the accused.” Sayyed will be produced before a metropolitan court on Tuesday. The police said Sayyed has confessed to murdering Dixit. Dixit’s body has been sent for an autopsy.