Jealous doctor hires gunmen to drive his rival out of business from Thane

Doctor hires gunman to scare rival, arrested accomplices confess crime was orchestrated by Dr Ramchandra Bhoir for professional dominance

Thane: Professional rivalry took an ugly turn as a medical practitioner in Thane’s Murbad area, who was jealous over the fact that more patients were going to another practitioner in the area, hired a gunman to fire on the doctor’s car in order to scare and drive him out of the neighbourhood.

On Sunday, four persons were arrested for firing at the car of Dr Ravishankar Pal. (Getty image)

The investigators said the accused, Dr Ramchandra Bhoir, who is at large after the incident, orchestrated the crime to establish his dominance in the area and to increase his income and business.

On Sunday, four persons were arrested for firing at the car of Dr Ravishankar Pal, who operates Shri Krishna Hospital in the Saralgaon area.

The incident occurred on July 1, said the Murbad police officials. “We found the firing was the result of a professional rivalry between two doctors. Our probe zeroed in on the main accused Dr Ramchandra Bhoir, who is on the run,” he said.

Four persons identified as Suresh Pundalik Okhore, 32, Bhushan alias Bablya Pundalik Pawar, 23, Gaurav Ramchandra Tungar, 22, and Jnaneshwar alias Bala Jaywant Sable 24 were held on Saturday, while the main accused, Dr Bhoir, resident of Saralgaon, and Vijay Wagh, resident of Farde Dhasai, are both absconding, the official added.

“It is important to note that one of the arrested accused Gaurav Tungar, who worked as a compounder at Dr Pal’s clinic, was reprimanded several times by him due to irregularities in his work. An enraged Tungar allied with Dr Bhoir and Pal’s driver, Sable, to conspire against him,” said an officer.

The police said Okhore and Pawar were instructed to carry out the shooting and Gaurav obtained a country made firearm from Vijay Wagh and provided it to the two shooters. On the day of the incident, on July 1, Dr Pal parked his car in front of Shri Krishna Hospital and left for work. In the evening, Okhore and Pawar, riding on a motorcycle, fired shots at the car and fled.

The following day, after learning about the shooting, Dr Pal reported the incident to the Murbad police station. The police scanned the CCTV footage which captured the two bike-borne men who shot at the car.

Based on technical analysis and information from informants, it was confirmed that the crime was committed by the arrested accused Suresh Pundalik Okhore and Bhushan alias Bablya Pundalik Pawar. They were apprehended and during interrogation, they admitted that the crime was carried out at the behest of arrested compounder Gaurav Tungar and driver Jnaneshwar alias Bala Jaywant Sable.

“Both were promptly taken into custody, and during interrogation, they confessed that the crime was orchestrated by Dr Ramchandra Bhoir. Additionally, Gaurav Tungar revealed that the firearm used in the crime, a local gun, was obtained from his friend Vijay Wagh. Also, the involvement of Dr Bhoir was confessed by all the accused. All arrested accused were produced in the court and were sent to police custody for next two days,” said Senior Police Inspector Pramod Babar.