One More Blue Drum: A Missing Engineer, A Secret Relationship And A Body Hidden In Blue Barrel

A murder case in Vasai and Virar drew attention after police linked it to a similar blue drum killing in Meerut. Thane police said a nurse, Mehjabin Sheikh, was arrested for allegedly murdering partner Arbaz Khan, a 24-year-old civil engineer, and dumping the body in a blue plastic drum.

According to investigators, Khan’s body was found in a decomposed state on April 5 near Virar Phata along the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Highway. The drum used for disposal was blue, prompting comparisons with the Meerut case from March 2025, where a similar container had been used to hide a body.

Blue drum murder case: Investigation into Vasai engineer’s disappearance

Police said Khan, who worked at a private firm in Dombivali, left for Dadar on April 3 to collect a payment linked to work. Khan did not return home. After several hours, Khan’s family grew worried and contacted police, reporting the disappearance and sharing details of Khan’s last known movements.

Officers checked Khan’s call detail records and tracked the final location of his mobile phone to Vasai. The analysis also showed that nurse Mehjabin Sheikh’s phone was active in the same area around that time. An official told PTI, "…His father lodged a complaint with police. The analysis of his call records led to nurse Mehjabin Sheikh, with whom he was in a relationship," indicating how suspicion shifted.

Blue drum murder case: Alleged extortion plot and role of relatives

Investigators said Mehjabin had earlier lent money to Khan, and later tried to recover it. Police believed this led to a plot to extort more funds from Khan, involving Mehjabin and relatives. An official said, "With the intention of extorting money from him, the accused, comprising Mehjabin and her kin, lured him to a secluded spot in Vasai," describing the alleged trap.

At the isolated location, officers claimed Khan’s hands and legs were tied before the attack. Police said Mehjabin and relative Tariq Sheikh allegedly beat Khan with PVC pipes until Khan died. The body was then allegedly stuffed inside a blue drum and dumped in a drain, or nullah, in the Vasai-Virar belt to hide the crime.

After the body was found and identified, police questioned Mehjabin and Tariq about their movements on April 3. Both were arrested on May 7 on suspicion of murder and related offences. Mumbra police station senior inspector Anil Shinde told PTI that Mehjabin’s husband Hassan and another associate, Mujazzam Talib Khan, were missing and listed as absconding.

Police said the method used in Vasai mirrored the Meerut blue drum murder case, which also involved a drum and an alleged relationship dispute. In Meerut, merchant navy employee Saurabh Rajput was killed, dismembered, and placed inside a blue drum that was later sealed with concrete at the crime scene.

Investigators in Meerut alleged that Saurabh’s spouse, Muskan, and friend Sahil Shukla drugged Saurabh before carrying out the killing. According to the probe, the pair escaped to Himachal Pradesh after the crime. Officers later stated that Saurabh was allegedly killed because he was "an obstacle in" Muskan and Sahil's love affair, highlighting the suspected motive.

Police in Meerut said further inquiry revealed Muskan had allegedly been planning the murder since November 2023. Both Muskan and Sahil were arrested on March 18, 2025, and Muskan had reportedly admitted to relatives that she killed Saurabh before police detained her. The Vasai case remained under investigation, with two accused still untraceable.