Mira Bhayandar: A fortnight after the body of a 75-year-old petrol pump owner- Ramchandra Gurmukhdas Kakrani was recovered from his car in the limits of Naglegaon in Vasai on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad national highway, two people including the driver of the deceased were arrested from Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh by a joint team comprising personnel from the crime detection unit (Vasai) and the central crime unit (CCU) attached to the Mira Bhayandar-Vasai Virar (MBVV) police.
According to the police, Kakrani who is a resident of Ulhasnagar and owns a petrol pump in Virar was found in his Hyundai Exter car with his limb tied and strangulation marks on 25, August. In addition to Rs.1.48 lakh cash, the watch and ring worth more than Rs.15 lakh was found to be missing indicating murder aimed at robbery.
The finger of suspicion pointed towards the driver of the car-Mukesh Govardhandas Khubchandani, his accomplices-Ramlal Jainik Yadav and Anil Rajkumar alias Nepali alias Thapa. During initial investigations and footage captured by CCTV cameras it came to light that the accused were headed towards Gujarat by using public transport.
Since Thapa was native of Nepal and Ramlal was staying in Gorakhpur (close to the Indo-Nepal border), the police had a hunch that the trio might flee to Nepal via Uttar Pradesh (UP). The trail led them to Siddharth Nagar (UP) and later to Mahadev Puram colony in Gorakhpur from where Khubchandani and Thapa were arrested.
The police also recovered the stolen booty from the accused who have been booked under the relevant sections of the BNS for kidnap, murder and theft. Investigations revealed that the trio had failed to execute their plan in Ulhasnagar following which they committed the robbery and murder between Bhiwandi and Vasai with plans of escaping to Nepal.
Khubchandani is a history sheeter with cases registered against him in Ulhasnagar, Indore, Bhiwandi, Agra, Mumbai and Thane. He is believed to have come into contact with the other two accused during his stint in jail. While further investigations were underway, the police have launched a manhunt to nab Ramlal who is still at large.
