Two held for murder of retired cop over loan repayment

The Badlapur police have arrested a 35-year-old labour contractor and his accomplice on charges of murdering a 68-year-old retired jail official over repayment of a ₹two lakh loan taken by the main accused from the cop

THANE: The Badlapur police have arrested a 35-year-old labour contractor and his accomplice on charges of murdering a 68-year-old retired jail official over repayment of a ₹two lakh loan taken by the main accused.

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The accused have been identified as Mahadu Walkol, 35, a Badlapur resident and his friend Laxman jadhav, 55, a Murbad resident.

The police said Ashok Kalu Mohite, a police constable posted at a jail who retired over 10 years ago, and lived with his family in Goradpada village in Badlapur. On April 12, he left home and went missing. His family searched for him across Badlapur, and finally lodged a missing complaint with Badlapur police on April 13.

During the investigations, the police learnt that that three days after Mohite went missing, ₹25000 was debited from Mohite’s bank account. The transaction details also showed that ₹2,03,000 was debited from the Mohite’s account and were credited to Mahadu Walkoli’s account. Based on suspicion, the police formed a team and launched a search for Mahadu. Using technical intelligence, the police detained Mahadu was from Murbad and seized ATM card of Mohite from his possession.

Kishor Shinde, Senior Police Inspector, Badlapur West, said, “During the investigation, he revealed that he had borrowed ₹2,03,000 from Mohite, and Mohite was now demanding a repayment. On the pretext of giving him herbal medicine for his asthma, Mahadu took Mohite on his bike towards Desai village in Murbad. Along with his friend Laxman Jadhav, he strangulated Mohite and threw his body into the bushes.” He said the accomplice Jadhav participated in the crime because he needed ₹50,000 for his daughter’s wedding.

Badlapur police registered a case under sections 302 (murder), 201 (destroying evidence), and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of IPC. Both the accused were produced in court on Wednesday and remanded into police custody.