Builder shot dead in Nerul, two assailants flee on bikes

The sound of gunshots shook the residents and shopkeepers around the busy road in sector 6, Nerul. “I was looking into the shelves when I heard the three bullet shots fired and by the time, I could figure out what had happened I saw two bikers speeding away,” a chemist from Krishna Medical, located opposite the spot, said

A builder was shot dead by two unidentified assailants, who are suspected to have followed his car on bikes, at Nerul in Navi Mumbai on Wednesday evening. The police also suspect that the murder could be a fallout of the land disputes he was involved in at his hometown, Kutch.

The body of Savji Manjeri Patel, 54, was found in his car with his legs outside around 5 pm, deputy commissioner of police (crime branch) Amit Kale said. Three bullet shells were found in the spot and preliminary enquiry found that Patel sustained two bullet injuries on his neck and chest. Four teams of crime branch and a team of Nerul police are investigating the case.

The body of Savji Manjeri Patel, 54, was found in his car with his legs outside around 5 pm, deputy commissioner of police (crime branch) Amit Kale said.

“Either he was getting into the car or was stepping out when the incident occurred. We are collecting CCTV footage to check the sequence of events as we have not found an eyewitness yet,” Kale said.

Three bullet shells were found in the spot and preliminary enquiry found that Patel sustained two bullet injuries on his neck and chest. Four teams of crime branch and a team of Nerul police are investigating the case.

Patel, who stayed in CBD Belapur, was also the adviser to Emperia Group that has ongoing projects at Panvel, Nerul, Rasayani and in Gujarat, and has upcoming projects at Kharghar, Turbhe and Panvel.

The sound of gunshots shook the residents and shopkeepers around the busy road in sector 6, Nerul.

“I was looking into the shelves when I heard the three bullet shots fired and by the time, I could figure out what had happened I saw two bikers speeding away,” a chemist from Krishna Medical, located opposite the spot, said.

A sugarcane juice seller said he was too afraid to even go near the site, but his wife went, and saw the body of the man with a wound on his chest.

“There seems to be no argument or fight before the firing or else people would have noticed it,” a police officer said.

Another passerby told HT, “The bikers must have been following the car as they overtook it and forced him to stop and when the door opened, they shot him. This is what someone in the crowd said.”

Patel’s son Dhiraj, who is the managing director and founder of Emperia Group, visited the spot and identified the body following which the police conducted a panchnama.