Advocate's murder: Watchman sent to police custody till Aug 17

The security guard in a residential complex, who allegedly stabbed to death a lawyer two days ago, was on Saturday remanded to police custody till August 17 by a local court.

Producing the accused Sajjad Ahmed Mughal, 22, before the court, police said they wanted to interrogate him further to find out if anybody else was involved with him in committing the crime.

Police said they also wanted to take DNA samples of the accused.

Pallavi, 25, daughter of IAS officer Atanu Purkayastha, joint secretary in the agriculture ministry, was found lying in a pool of blood in her 16th floor apartment in Mumbai by her live-in partner Avik Sengupta on August 9.

According to the police, the accused had manipulated the electric meter of the ground floor flat where the victim lived, resulting in a power cut. Pallavi called an electrician who came along with Mughal. While the power problem was being set right, the security guard stole the house keys and went away.

Later, he entered the flat and tried to force himself on her. A scuffle broke out between the two and Pallavi resisted the attempts of the accused to rape her. Mughal then stabbed her and escaped after concealing the knife used in the crime under a shoe rack on the third floor of the building.

Mughal jumped over the fence to escape the notice of fellow watchmen, but was apprehended by the police near Mumbai Central Railway station before he could board a train to his native place. Police also found injuries on his hand.

Later, during interrogation, he confessed to the crime.