More arrests for Leona Swiderski's murder

 

Bombay, May 28, 2004:

According to the police, his accomplices included Fruitwala, who was allegedly hired as a contract killer.

A fresh arrest is prising open a transitional tale of contract killers, love and million-dollar insurance fraud, find N Ganesh and Aparna Narayanan

IT was a steamy day in May, but as always that did not stop the boisterous young men of Rani Talav from indulging in the national pastime: Cricket.

It was noon on May 1 when a team of Surat police in plain clothes sidestepped the cricket game and walked into a nearby house. It turned out they were looking for one of the players: Farooq Fuitwala. An informant told them that Fruitwala—a fruit merchant, as his name suggests—was at his in-laws’ home. That’s where the law finally caught up with 28-year-old Fruitwala. He had eluded the police for a year, but now, his incarceration could reopen the sensational Swiderski murder case

• Vipul Patel, a Vadodara resident belonging to a family of middle-class, small-time merchants, has been described as a childhood friend of Desai’s. The 29-year-old was allegedly paid by Desai to arrange Swiderski’s murder by hiring two contract killers.
  
  
• A 28-year-old fruit seller, Farooq Fruitwala was allegedly hired as a contract killer in the Swiderski case. With no previous criminal history, it was his acquaintance with Altaf Patel that reportedly led to his involvement in the murder. He is now in the custody of Thane police.
  
  
• The other alleged contract killer, Altaf Patel reportedly took the contract to kill Swiderski from her fiancé Pragnesh Desai. He has eluded arrest since the murder and is still absconding.