Surat: The murder of property dealer Faisal Hasanfatta on Zilani Bridge on Sunday has been traced to an alleged contract killing, with Chowk Bazar police and the crime branch arresting four persons on Wednesday.Police said the four allegedly carried out the murder for Rs 10 lakh, a contract purportedly given by Mubarak Patel alias Mubo, who remains absconding. The motive behind the murder is yet to be established.The arrested accused have been identified as Abhishek Devre alias Rohan alias Ghughru (27), Kaiser Ali Saiyed (26), Wasim Shaikh alias Vasiyo (21) and Gokul Jadav (20).Additional commissioner of police (sector-1) Balram Meena said Patel had allegedly offered Rs 10 lakh for the killing and paid an advance of Rs 1 lakh to Devre.According to police, Faisal was at his office near Variyali Bazaar on Aug 31. The accused allegedly waited outside and followed him after he left on his moped.The chase ended on Zilani Bridge, where the accused allegedly rammed their moped into Faisal’s vehicle, causing him to fall. They then attacked him with sharp-edged weapons before fleeing towards the bridge on the wrong side, police said.Police formed 15 teams to trace the accused and examined CCTV footage besides conducting technical analysis. Investigators subsequently received information that the suspects had fled towards Mumbai.Two of the accused were apprehended from a public road near Fountain Hotel on the Mumbai highway, while the other two were arrested near Western Hotel in the Mumbai area, police said.The arrested men also have criminal antecedents. Devre has cases registered in Surat for alleged attempt to murder, house-breaking, robbery and weapons-related offences. Wasim has multiple cases involving assault and weapons offences. Gokul has previous assault cases in Surat, while Kaiser Ali faces cases in Amalner in Maharashtra’s Jalgaon district and is wanted in connection with a 2026 attempt-to-murder case there, police said.Police said the motive would become clear after Patel’s arrest. Meena said Patel is a history-sheeter with more than 14 cases registered against him at Khatodara, Salabatpura, Dindoli and Udhna police stations. He has allegedly been externed from Surat city twice and was detained under PASA once.
