In a shocking case of betrayal and murder, the mutilated body of private security agency owner Chandrabhan Dubey was discovered stuffed into two bags in Surat’s Althan area on Friday. Police have named Rashid Ansari, Dubey’s employee for 18 months, as the main suspect, alleging the brutal killing was linked to a ₹1 crore ransom demand.
Dubey, owner of Dubey Security Services and employer of over 200 security guards citywide, disappeared on the evening of May 12. He left his office in Salabatpura around 6 pm, traveling in Ansari’s auto-rickshaw to pay salaries at various deployment sites, including the Pandesara CETP plant and a school in Abhwa.
When Dubey didn’t return home, his family reached out to Ansari, who falsely said he had dropped Dubey near CB Patel Stadium, where Dubey supposedly got into a white car. Worried about his safety, the family filed a missing person’s report at Althan police station on May 13.
At first, Ansari joined Dubey’s family and the police in the search to avoid suspicion. But when he realized the police were checking CCTV footage, he went missing himself. Investigators reviewed over 500 cameras and discovered that Dubey never left the rickshaw. Instead, Ansari had taken him straight to his home in the Bhindi Bazar area of Surat’s Un locality, and Dubey was never seen leaving after that.
Surveillance footage from May 14 captured Ansari leaving his home on a moped, carrying two large bags. Police tracked him to the Mithikhadi rivulet in the Limbayat area, where fire department teams later recovered the bags containing Dubey’s dismembered body.
Deput Commissioner of Police (Zone 4) Vijay Singh Gurjar confirmed that Dubey was murdered at Ansari’s residence. “The accused continued to send ransom messages to the family even after the murder, unaware that the body had been found,” he said.
Further investigation suggests other suspects may be involved, as another unidentified person was seen exiting the auto-rickshaw with Dubey near Ansari’s home. According to Althan Police Inspector D.D. Chauhan, the ransom calls and messages were sent from Dubey’s own mobile phone.