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Mastermind of Malwani triple murder claims she is scared of blood

The mastermind of the triple murder at Malwani, Shabina alias Anam Sheikh (25) claims she was so scared of blood, that when her associates were killing Babli Shaw and her grandchildren, she stood near a bathroom next to the back door as she claims she could not watch the massacre.

Unit XI of the Crime Branch worked tirelessly and by Saturday the murderers were apprehended at Valsad railway station. The arrested accused have been identified as Shabina the mastermind, Mufid alias Salman Sheikh (22) (he posed as Shabina’s husband), and Salman Akbar Sheikh alias Chhota Salman.

After brutally murdering Shaw (50) and her two grandchildren, Aryan Sheikh (13) and Shaniya Sheikh (10), they planned to leave for Ajmer. But Chhota Salman sustained an injury during the murders, which needed medical attention and stalled them.

They boarded Gujarat Express from Borivli at 6:25 am on June 23, but barely made it to Valsad as Chhota Salman was in dire need of medical attention. He was in pain and lost consciousness as his right hand had been cut deeply. 

They got off the train and went to a nearby hospital. For the next 24 hours they waited for Salman to be fit to continue their escape from the city limits.

According to the police, Chhota Salman was injured when Mufid was trying to kill Shaniya. While Mufid was attacking her, Chhota Salman tried to grab Mufid’s hand and got injured. Chhota Salman confessed that he didn’t want to kill the kids.

Motive was financial

Police said the motive behind the murders was a financial one. Babli had property in Mumbai as well as in West Bengal, and had proclaimed the young children as the sole heirs in the event of her death. She had also recently sold off some property and was in possession of a large amount of cash.

The murders

Shabina confessed to the crime and told the police that she and Mufid, had planned to rob Babli. They went to kill Babli on June 16, but failed to do so. Later Mufid took the help of his friend Salman. Mufid along with Shabina and Salman, went to Babli’s house on June 23, where Shabina, a sex worker, introduced Mufid and Salman as her customers.

At 12.30 am Babli allowed the three in her house. They went to a room and waited till Babli fell asleep. At 2.30 am they came down. While Shabina was scared of blood and kept watch near a bathroom next to the back door, Mufid and Chhota Salman grabbed Babli’s hands and stabbed her. Due to the chaos, Shaniya woke up. Mufid attacked her but Salman tried to stop him and got injured. After killing Shaniya, Mufid killed Aryan. Then they tried opening Babli’s safe, for which they had even brought a paver block stone, but even after trying for half hour they were unable to do it. Salman was also in pain and so leaving the cupboard as it was, they fled and went to the Borivli station.

They boarded a train for Ajmer.

Police speak

According to the Crime Branch, Shabina has a 3-year-old boy, who she claims is her first husband’s son. She used to stay at Malwani’s Ambujwadi area for the past 14 months, with Mufid posing as her husband. Mufid and Chhota Salman, are auto drivers.

“After the murder the trio went to Ambujwadi where Shabina picked up her son, and they went to Borivli in Mufid’s auto. A commuter and a local hamal helped us and we came to know that accused went to Valsad,” said PI Chimaji Adhav unit XI crime branch.

“The trio have confessed to their crime and police also have some strong evidence against them. Each officer of Crime Branch unit XI has done an excellent job. Without any clue or evidence we traced and arrested the accused and handed them to the Malwani Police station,” he added.