Borivali Government Railway Police (GRP) scanned nearly 200 CCTV cameras in Malad and Dindoshi to trace the accused in The fatal stabbing of a university professor. inside a local train at Malad railway station, arresting him within 12 hours on Sunday morning.
The accused, Omkar .Eknath Shinde, was arrested near an autorickshaw stand in Malad after the police tracked him down. movements from the station to the Western Express Highway using CCTV footage and the railway’s facial recognition system (FRS).
Shinde is accused of murdering Alok Kumar Singh, a 32-year-old university professor, who was stabbed during an argument while getting off a local train at Malad station on Saturday.
Soon after the incident, the GRP registered a murder case and formed five teams, each comprising five or six officers. The municipal police also joined the search operation. CCTV footage from the railway platform and surrounding areas was analyzed to trace the suspect’s escape route.
“We tracked the accused’s movement through multiple CCTV cameras from Malad station to Western Express Highway. A team also worked on the railway’s facial recognition system and found that Shinde regularly traveled by train from Malad to Charni Road,” said police sub-inspector Prakash Salunkhe, detection officer at Borivali GRP.
According to police, Shinde usually took the 7.18 am train from Malad and returned by the 4.16 pm train from Charni Road. The teams scanned CCTV footage at stations like Andheri, Bandra and Mumbai Central using FRS, and also checked cameras at Dindoshi and Kurar.
“We received a tip-off that he had been seen on CCTV near Triveni Nagar in Kurar village. Local human intelligence was activated and a team was deployed at Malad autorickshaw stand as per their routine,” the officer said.
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Despite doubts that the accused would not be able to travel on a Sunday, the police continued surveillance. Around 7.40 am, Shinde was seen alighting from an autorickshaw near Malad station and was immediately detained. He was taken to the GRP office in Borivali.
Police showed him CCTV footage of a man fleeing across the footbridge after the incident. He identified himself and confessed to the crime, officers said.
During interrogation, Shinde told the police that he was carrying pliers and during an argument with Singh, he stabbed him in the abdomen in a fit of rage while getting off the train. “He said he didn’t realize the wound would be fatal and ran away fearing the passengers would hit him,” Salunkhe said.
Shinde lives with his parents and elder brother Amar in Triveni Nagar, Kurar village, Malad (East). His father is a heart patient, his mother is a housewife and his brother works in a private company. Shinde runs a small jewelery shop in Tambe Gali in the Grant Road area and is originally from Ratnagiri.
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The accused managed to flee the scene due to the strong avalanche on the platform. CCTV footage showed him panicking and running across the bridge shortly after the stabbing.
“All the facts have been verified and the accused has been arrested for murder,” said senior inspector DM Khuperkar of Borivali GRP. Shinde was produced before a court and remanded in police custody till January 29.
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