Mumbai: Juhu police on Friday said they had solved the murder of a 35-year-old watchman, Mohan Yadav, who was on night duty at the Abhijit residential building in Vile Parle (West) on August 1. Five people have been arrested in the case, including the cook employed by a businessman couple living in the building and the driver of a renowned Bollywood film director residing in Juhu.Police said the accused had allegedly conspired to rob and kill the businessman, his wife, who also runs a business, and their daughter, who lived on the sixth floor of the building. The plan was to steal cash and valuables that the cook, Jogeshwar Mallik (38), a native of Madhubani in Bihar, claimed to have seen inside a cupboard. The valuables allegedly included Indian and foreign currency, diamond and gold jewellery, and gold bricks.Police said Mallik was the mastermind behind the conspiracy. Employed by the businessman for the past 10 years, he allegedly procured duplicate keys to the family’s flat and spent nearly two-and-a-half years planning the robbery with Vijay Gonjare (41), the driver of a renowned Bollywood film director. Investigators said the two stopped communicating over mobile phones six months ago to avoid detection and instead met in person every night after signing off from work around 9.30pm at locations in Juhu.To execute the plan, Mallik allegedly asked Gonjare to recruit three more accomplices — Sharad Yerudkar (43), his brother Mahadev Yerudkar from Kolhapur, and Aniket Bornak (30). According to police, it was agreed that Mallik would receive 50% of the stolen valuables, while the remaining half would be divided among the other four accused.“When we picked up Mallik, his employer came to his rescue and even stood by his side, insisting he could not have been involved in the murder, unaware that the conspiracy was actually to rob and kill the family as well,” said an officer from the Juhu police station.Police said Mallik and Gonjare knew each other because Gonjare had earlier worked with his employer in the same Juhu building where the film director resides, before relocating to Vile Parle (West). Investigators said the conspiracy gathered pace last week after Mallik handed over the duplicate keys to Gonjare.According to the investigation, Gonjare introduced the three accomplices to watchman Mohan Yadav on Friday, a day before the crime, and even gave him Rs 500 to gain his confidence while telling him they would return the next day for a party.On the night of August 1, the four accused gathered at the building and drank with Yadav. Police said they had spiked his drink, but when they realised it had little effect on him, they allegedly strangled him to death. His hands were tied behind his back before his body was dumped into a water tank and the lid was shut.Around 4.30am on August 2, Gonjare and the three accomplices, who were allegedly drunk, went to the sixth floor and attempted to enter the businessman’s flat using the duplicate keys. When they failed to unlock the door, Sharad Yerudkar continued trying for some time before the group eventually abandoned the attempt and fled. Police said the accused had also carried hammers to facilitate the robbery if required.Investigators said both Mallik and Gonjare have confessed to having planned the crime for nearly two-and-a-half years.Police registered a murder case on Aug 2, after the relieving security guard discovered Yadav’s body and alerted the police.The investigation was supervised by Deputy Commissioner of Police (West Zone-2) Mohit Garg. Multiple teams worked on the case under Assistant Commissioner of Police Vinod Gaonkar; senior inspector Bapurao Gawade; inspectors Santosh Jadhav and Atul Mali; assistant inspectors Ranjit Chavhan, Yash Palwe and Kumbhare; sub-inspectors Balasaheb Pote and Suryakant Omase; along with other staff members.Police said the investigation initially hit a dead end. Teams recreated the crime scene and found that even loud screams from the watchman’s location could not be heard elsewhere in the largely vacant building.The breakthrough came after investigators spotted Gonjare in CCTV footage in Juhu allegedly making inquiries about purchasing operation gloves. Police said technical analysis helped track Gonjare, which in turn led investigators to Sharad Yerudkar before they arrested Mallik and the remaining accused.According to police, the accused believed they could execute the robbery without being detected because only three families occupied the 10-storey building. While the first two floors housed commercial establishments, most of the residential floors were vacant after flat owners had vacated the premises for an upcoming redevelopment project.