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Three kill 19-year-old man who tried to stop them from stealing chickens
The accused – identified as Dineshkumar Saroj, 20, Veerendra Kumar Saroj, 21 and Chandrashekhar Lalji, 20 – hailed from Kausami district, Uttar Pradesh and resided in Usarli, Navi Mumbai.
Navi Mumbai: Three bakery employees were arrested on Monday after they allegedly murdered a 19-year-old man who tried to foil the trio’s attempt to steal a chicken. The Navi Mumbai Police carried out the operation within 48 hours of the crime.
The accused – identified as Dineshkumar Saroj, 20, Veerendra Kumar Saroj, 21 and Chandrashekhar Lalji, 20 – hailed from Kausami district, Uttar Pradesh and resided in Usarli, Navi Mumbai.
Vinod Patil, 19, a resident of Shivkar village, Panvel, was found dead on March 29 under the Mumbai-Pune expressway bridge and injuries on his body pointed to the victim being attacked repeatedly with sharp weapons.
According to deputy commissioner of police (crime) Amit Kale, “We tried to get information on the accused by speaking to the victim’s family and the villagers. Our informants checked on the suspicious items at the spot, studied the CCTV footage of the area and also resorted to a technical investigation.”
“Initially, there was no clue on the motive or the identity of the possible killers. Our crime unit 3 team undertook crime scene recreation to understand the case better. The team repeatedly visited the murder spot and checked on the routes that connected to the area,” he added.
Kale said that after a detailed investigation, they zeroed in on three suspects in Usarli village for whom a trap was laid on March 31. Following their interrogation, they confessed to the crime.
Giving details of the case, Kale said, “The accused had gone in the night to Shivkar village to steal a chicken. They locked the houses of some people from outside and then targeted the house of the victim from where they stole a mobile phone and some other items.”
Patil woke up to see the trio fleeing and went after them with an axe, he said, adding, “A scuffle ensued and the accused snatched the axe and attacked Patil with it and the knives they were carrying. After injuring him, they took him to the bushes under the Mumbai-Pune expressway and killed him there.”
“The accused worked at a bakery in Shivkar village – where the incident took place – for the past two to three years. They hence knew the area well,” said assistant commissioner of police (crime) Vinayak Vast. “The trio have been handed over to Panvel police, which is investigating the case further.”
