Navi Mumbai: Crime Branch Nabs Five in Murder Case of Real Estate Agent

The Crime Branch of Navi Mumbai Police has arrested five individuals, claiming to have solved the murder of two real estate agents from Navi Mumbai. The body of one agent was found the next day in Pen Taluka, and the other was discovered in the Karnala Bird Sanctuary area after the main suspect was arrested on August 27.

Initial investigations revealed that a financial dispute was the motive behind the murder of one real estate agent by another estate agent.

Aamir Khanjada, 42, a resident of Sector 27 in Nerul, and Sumit Jain, 39, a resident of Sector 4 in Nerul, went missing on August 21 after leaving home for a business deal. Jain's family filed a missing person report at the Nerul police station on August 22.

Using GPS, the Nerul police traced Khanjada’s car to the area under Khopoli police station's jurisdiction, where they found bloodstains and empty cartridges.

On August 23, Sumit Jain's body was found off the Pen-Khopoli State Highway, the day after the car was found abandoned in the Khalapur area. The police Patil of Gagode village in Pen reported discovering the body in roadside bushes. However, there was still no trace of Khanjada.

Based on technical analysis and family information, the police detained four suspects. During interrogation, the police learned that Khanjada was murdered in the car in Nerul on the night of August 21, and his body was later dumped in the Karnala Bird Sanctuary area. The body was subsequently found, partially decomposed. One additional suspect was also arrested.

The arrested suspects were identified as Vitthal Baban Nakade, 43, a resident of Kanjurmarg in Mumbai; Jay Singh alias Raja Madhu Mudaliyar, 38, a resident of Panvel; Anand alias Andri Rajan Kuj, 39, a resident of Nerul; Virendra alias Goya Bharat Kadam, 24, a resident of Kanjurmarg (East); and Ankush alias Ankya Prakash Sitapure, 35, a resident of Ulhasnagar. One more accused is involved in the crime, said police. 

According to police, Nakade is a repeat offender with a history of crime, having spent five years in jail. Several fraud cases have been registered against him in Raigad and Navi Mumbai. Nakade and Jain had been friends for nearly 10 to 12 years.

“Khanzada and Jain were involved in the real estate business for a long time. Khanzada would bring in plots, and Jain would find investors,” said Ajay Landge, ACP (Crime).

Nakade and Jain had recently dealt with a 3.5-acre parcel of land in Pali, Raigad district. The police report that Nakade forged documents to sell the land through Jain. Initially, they received ₹60 lakh from investors and around ₹9 lakh via cheque. However, when the investors discovered the documents were fake, they stopped payment on the cheques.

“The original owner of the Pali land parcel had died during the COVID-19 pandemic, and fake documents were created under another name to facilitate the sale,” explained the police.

Khanzada, who worked alongside Jain in real estate, demanded his commission from the Pali land deal. “Despite his demands, Khanzada and Jain continued to run their real estate business together, with no declared animosity,” said Pankaj Dahane, DCP (Zone 2).

Due to the halted payments from investors and Jain's debts of over ₹14 to ₹15 crores, it is suspected that Jain believed Khanzada had disclosed details about the Pali land.

“On August 20, Nakade and Jain met at Viviana Mall in Thane and conspired to kill Khanzada. They enlisted Anand’s help and hired two contract killers for ₹50 lakh, initially paying them ₹1.5 lakh and ₹3 lakh,” said ACP Landge.

On August 21, Jain and Khanjada left home in the evening for business purposes and subsequently went missing. “Khanzada was killed in his car in Nerul, and his body was dumped in the Karnala area,” the police reported.

To make it appear as an attack, Jain shot himself in the leg near the Khalapur police station area. However, an argument broke out over payment to the contract killers, who then stabbed Jain in the leg and fled. Jain lost a significant amount of blood and died in Gagode village in Pen Taluka.