Mumbai cops nab double murder accused after 1200 km, 12-day hunt across states

Mumbai, Jan 11 (IANS) After a hot pursuit lasting 12 days and 1200 kms across multiple states, the Mumbai Police finally caught a killer who was on the run after clobbering to death his wife and brother, an official said here on Thursday.

The accused, Drayson M. D’Sa, 40, had a huge quarrel at home and allegedly killed his wife Chitra, 35, and older brother Damian M. D’Sa at their home in Malad west late on December 29, before fleeing from there.

According to a complaint by his sister-in-law, Bindu Damian D’Sa -- who had gone to office at the time -- Drayson had pounded his wife Chitra and brother Damian with a china clay flower pot and also stabbed them with some sharp objects.

While Chitra died immediately, Damian lapsed into a coma due to the trauma injuries and died after five days (January 2) in a private hospital.

The purported motive is said to be an old property dispute between the two brothers and their wives, which claimed the lives of two, an official said.

Based on the complaint by Bindu, the Bangur Nagar Link Road Police Station lodged an FIR of double murder and started the probe as the killer had gone incommunicado.

In a smart tactic to stay off the police radar, Drayson did not carry his mobile phone or use any electronic gadgets or bank cards, making it extremely difficult for the police teams to track or trace him.

Nevertheless, the police teams took into account all aspects, especially the possible modes of travel when he was on the run, and started scanning CCTV footage of the vicinity.

From a single grab on CCTV, the police launched a veritable man-hunt, painstakingly scanning the CCTV footage on the 'escape route' of Drayson, spanning Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka and finally zeroing in on him in Kolkata, West Bengal, as he was reportedly preparing to cross the borders to either Bangladesh or Nepal.

On Wednesday (January 10), with the help of Kolkata Police’s Special Task Force, Drayson was picked up from a hotel room and later arrested. He is being brought to Mumbai to face the laws, said an official.

Top police officials, including Rajeev Jain, Ajaykumar Bansal, Renuka Bagde, Pramod Tawade, Bhaskar Kadam and their teams, successfully executed the difficult task after tracking the absconder for 12 days over 1200 kms through multiple states.