Rickshaw driver arrested for broker’s murder in Dombivli

38-year-old rickshaw driver arrested for the murder of a broker in Dombivli over a land dispute. Police hunting for accomplice.

Thane: Two days after a 40-year-old broker was found dead near a dhaba (a roadside restaurant) in Dombivli, the police arrested a 38-year-old rickshaw driver for the murder and launched a manhunt for his accomplice.

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According to officials, the victim, Sanjay Bhoir, was stabbed to death in an isolated place over a land dispute. “The accused, identified as Vikas Patil, a resident of Umbarli, was angry with Bhoir for allegedly cheating him in a property deal and was planning to kill him,” said a police officer after interrogating him.

On Friday, Bhoir’s family filed a missing complaint at a police station after he was unreachable. The family last spoke to Bhoir who was meeting friends for dinner. The Manpada police sprung into action to trace him and later that night, they found his body near a dhaba with deep cuts. Bhoir’s body was sent for postmortem examination, revealing injuries consistent with an attack using a sharp weapon.

Assistant police commissioner S Kurade immediately formed a team under Senior police inspector of Manpada police station Vijay Kadbane. Within two days the team arrested Vikas Patil. He has executed this murder with the help of his friend who is absconding.

Vikas and Sanjay earlier had a dispute over land which is owned by the accused. They had several altercations over the sale of the same land. As the accused felt Bhoir cheated him. The rickshaw driver Vikas Patil had also heard from their close acquaintances that Sanjay was going to kill him. Therefore, Vikas Patil planned to kill Sanjay Bhoir with the help of an accomplice thinking that he would kill Sanjay rather than his life getting worse.

An officer from the investigating team said, “On Friday the accused found the deceased alone on the backside of the dhaba. There was no light there. The accused with the help of his friend held Bhoir and stabbed him to death. Through technical details and CCTV footage, we could nab the rickshaw driver, the main accused in the case.”