Shah went missing, and three days later, his body was found in a pond near Malpur village in Aravalli district on 28 July.

According to an official statement from the Ahmedabad Detection of Crime Branch (DCB), Shah was abducted on 25 July. In one hour he was murdered by the abductors. So far, two persons, including former Navneet employee Jignesh Bhavsar who was a part of post-press book unit, have been arrested.

In a statement to the press, the joint commissioner of police J K Bhatt said: “Bhavsar was sacked by Shah around four years ago. While Bhavsar sought revenge, other conspirators wanted to extract money. They had thought to demand Rs 5 crore initially, and settle for Rs 2-3 crore.”

The police have uncovered the role of three other persons’ in the crime. This includes Shailesh Patel, who is the head of a notorious gang in Sabarkantha.

As there was no CCTV footage at the site of abduction, the investigation was carried out on the basis of CDR (call data record) and technical surveillance.

Industry leaders who knew Navin Shah personally mention how he was "a kind and gentle soul; and very helpful." An integral part of the Navneet family think-tank, he was responsible for Navneet building a strong brand in educational content and stationery - and gaining a leadership position in the market. Today, the company has a market share of approximately 65% in Western India

Since 1959, Navneet has been in the education market and it has published more than 5,000 titles in English, Marathi, Hindi, Gujarati, Tamil, Urdu and other regional languages. Navneet's products are sold under brands such as Navneet, Vikas, Gala, Grafalco, FfUuNn and Boss.

Rest in Peace, Navin Shah.