Same-sex relationship, argument & fake identity: Breakthrough in 2010 murder case

With the arrest of a new suspect, the Ahmedabad Crime Branch on Saturday hit a major breakthrough in the 2010 murder case in which a man’s stripped body was found in the kitchen of a rented apartment. The matter was recently picked up for re-investigation.

According to an Indian Express report, the arrested suspect has been identified as Rameshbhai Danabhai Desai, who allegedly killed the victim- Manish Sahay – and fled the crime scene.

The suspect was traced to a location near Ahmedabad, en route from Mumbai to Rajasthan. During interrogation, he initially provided false information but later confessed to his real identity, the Crime Branch said in a statement.

Suspect and victim were in a same-sex relationship

During the police interrogation, Ramesh confessed that he and the victim Manish Sahay admitted that he was in a same-sex relationship with Manish, which had led to arguments, the publication reported.

The suspect further stated that at the time of the murder, a physical altercation allegedly happened between the two during which Ramesh attacked Manish with a brick, leading to fatal injuries to the victim.

Ramesh then allegedly concealed the body of Manish Sahay and fled in the victim’s two-wheeler, stayed briefly in Surendranagar and then Dudhraj and later travelled to Mandla.

Suspect was faking his identity throughout

Fearing arrest, Ramesh continued to evade the arrest. He was living under a false identity in Rajasthan for eight years and for that purpose, he changed his name, obtained new identity documents, and a life insurance policy, The Indian Express reported quoting the police officials.

After a deeper investigation, investigators found that the actual name of the deceased who was initially identified as Manish Gupta was Manish Sahay.

In 2017, Ramesh moved to Mumbai and started working as a senior captain at a hotel in Kharghar, Navi Mumbai.

2010 Ahmedabad murder case

Fourteen years ago, a man was found dead in the kitchen of a rented home in the Vejalpur area of Ahmedabad. His hands and feet were tied and his mouth taped while his body was stripped. He then concealed his body with a cloth and hid it under sand and cement.

An FIR for murder was filed at the Vejalpur police station at the time after the suspect’s friend filed a report. However, police had hit a dead end and the case had gone into cold storage for almost a decade-and-a-half.