Police establish role of gangster ‘Chacha’ in 2022 murder of Virar builder

The 74-year-old gangster was remanded by the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) court in Thane to police custody till December 22

MUMBAI: Mumbai gangster Subhash Singh Thakur alias Chacha, who was arrested last Wednesday by the Mira-Bhayander-Vasai-Virar Crime Branch for the 2022 daylight killing of a property developer in Virar East, accepted the ₹50-lakh contract, of which only ₹8 lakh was paid to arrange for sharpshooters to carry out the murder, police officials said.

Police establish role of gangster ‘Chacha’ in 2022 murder of Virar builder

The 74-year-old gangster was remanded by the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) court in Thane to police custody till December 22. In their remand application, the police claimed that Thakur was the mastermind behind the murder of a local builder, Vishwajit alias Samay Singh Chauhan, in Manvelpada in Virar East. Chauhan was shot dead on a street by two bike-borne assailants on February 26, 2022.

According to the Crime Branch officers, Thakur has not been cooperating with the investigation and has repeatedly told them that he does not even know Rahul Dubey, who allegedly gave him the contract to kill a rival builder Vishwajit alias Samay Singh Chauhan. Chauhan had allegedly encroached on land where a chawl development project was being carried out by Dubey.

Police officers, however, said that the probe had established Thakur’s involvement in the case—that he ordered shooters Rahul Sharma and Abhishek Singh alias Ankur to carry out the killing and accepted ₹8 lakh from Dubey while he was in hospital. The shooters were picked up in Uttar Pradesh by MBVV Crime Branch inspector Pramod Badak and his team, based on CCTV footage and information from informants.

Thakur’s arrest in the case was delayed due to his prolonged medical treatment at a hospital in Banaras Hindu University, where he was shifted in 2019 from Fatehgarh Jail. The once-notorious gangster, known for his close ties to mafia boss Dawood Ibrahim, was transferred back to jail in 2024 when the MBVV police initiated the process for his arrest.

“We have got CCTV recordings of the hospital where Thakur was admitted, showing at least eight of the 11 accused in the murder conspiracy visiting him repeatedly in meetings lasting several minutes,” said a Crime Branch officer. The police also have Dubey’s call data records showing that he had made calls to Thakur, thus establishing his involvement in the conspiracy.

Police said that Thakur’s name cropped up in the investigation a few months after the arrest of 11 individuals, including Rahul Dubey. They realised that the murder plot had, in fact, been hatched by Thakur, known as “chacha” or “uncle’ in the local builder lobby in Vasai-Virar on account of his knack for settling disputes.

Police officials said that Thakur was eating regularly in custody but they were still worried about his health. “He has not stopped talking about his initiation into the crime world with the Dawood gang,” said a police officer. “He blames the whole thing on a police officer who arrested him in a wrong case which sent him to jail. That was where he met the D gang members.”