Missing art director murdered, body found in Virar nullah

MUMBAI: An art director, who had gone missing from Madh on Wednesday, was found murdered in a nullah in Virar on Friday. Krishnendu Chouwdhury, 37, had gone to Madh to meet a vendor to get some of his designs executed. He had called an employee at his office before his handset was switched off. His car, laptop and phone haven’t been found.

Around 7pm on Wednesday, Chouwdhury left his office, which he ran out of his Goregaon house, and told his staff to lock up after work.He went to Bhati village in Madh where he visited the vendor, Mohammad Furkan, at his workshop.
“He was with me from 8pm to 8.30pm and attended a couple of phone calls during that time. One was from a woman. We discussed some design changes and he left saying he had another meeting,” Furkan told TOI.
Around 9.15pm, one of Chouwdhury’s employees spoke to him on phone. He asked her if everyone had left but when she called back an hour later, his phone was switched off. He was last active on Whatsapp at 9.16pm.
On Friday, at 2.30pm, his body was found in a nullah at Khaniwade, Shirsad Phata, in Virar (E). The body was wrapped in a bedsheet and no identification was found. There was a stab wound on the neck and two on the abdomen. “Chouwdhury is unmarried and his family is based out of Kolkata. His brother, Dibyendu, arrived in Virar on Saturday and identified the body,” a police officer said. A case of murder and causing disappearence of evidence has been registered by the Virar police.
Dibyendu told TOI that he had received calls from Chouwdhury’s friends after the latter went missing. “I hadn't spoken to my brother since the last few days. It was only after speaking to his friends that I found out he was missing,” said Dibyendu.
Chouwdhury’s colleagues said he had been trying to recover payments due from some people, but otherwise did not seem to have issues with anyone. “When I met him a fortnight ago, he had a heated argument with someone over the phone regarding payments,” said Furkan. The police will be quizzing Chouwdhury's present and past employees.
The Virar police have formed two teams to look into the case. “It is not clear yet if the body was dumped at Khanivade or swept away from somewhere else due to the heavy rain. We are also verifying if the murder could have occurred on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad National Highway. CCTV footage at Khaniwade toll naka, Dahisar check naka as well as Madh will be scrutinised,” said a police officer. His body will be handed over to his brother after the autopsy.