Builder’s murder: Cops probe Kutch property dispute angle

“He owned a property in Kutch, his hometown, which was encroached upon, and a police case was filed around nine months ago. He had no disputes in Navi Mumbai and had never received any threats as well. Hence, our suspicion is on someone from Kutch. He had a relative in Nerul where he had gone on Wednesday for lunch and the incident occurred when he was getting into the car to drive home,” Rajendra Chaudhary, managing director and chairman, Emperia Group, said

Investigation into the murder of a builder in Nerul had revealed that the two assailants could be hired by someone in Kutch where the victim had a property dispute, the police said. On Thursday, a team from Nerul police station left for the district in Gujarat to chase a lead.

Savji Manjeri-Patel, 56, a resident of CBD Belapur, was shot dead on Thursday evening opposite Apna Bazar in sector 6, Nerul. The two attackers had come on a bike and shot Patel while he was getting into his car, police officers said. Patel was an adviser to Emperia Group which was founded by his son Dhiraj.

Meanwhile, four crime branch teams are looking into the technical evidence and the dump data of mobile tower as there were no CCTV cameras at the crime scene, and neither have any eyewitnesses come forward.

Savji Manjeri-Patel, 56, a resident of CBD Belapur, was shot dead on Thursday evening opposite Apna Bazar in sector 6, Nerul. The two attackers had come on a bike and shot Patel while he was getting into his car, police officers said. Patel was an adviser to Emperia Group which was founded by his son Dhiraj.

“He owned a property in Kutch, his hometown, which was encroached upon, and a police case was filed around nine months ago. He had no disputes in Navi Mumbai and had never received any threats as well. Hence, our suspicion is on someone from Kutch. He had a relative in Nerul where he had gone on Wednesday for lunch and the incident occurred when he was getting into the car to drive home,” Rajendra Chaudhary, managing director and chairman, Emperia Group, said.

According to a crime branch officer, they could not find CCTV footage of the murder. “The spot is at a corner of the road and that area was not covered by any cameras. There is a medical store, Apna Bazaar, and a residential building nearby, but their cameras mostly cover the passage and frontage.”

However, footage from other areas captured two men with helmets and gloves speeding away on a bike which was corroborated by shopkeepers, and the police suspect that they could be the shooters.

Patel received two bullet injuries on his neck and chest. His last rites were performed on Thursday at Belapur.