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Pimpri-Chinchwad police arrest four in Sonya Tapkir murder case
On May 22, Karan Rokade, the prime accused, along with his associates, killed Sonya Tapkir in Chikhali to create terror in the area
The Pimpri-Chinchwad police have arrested four persons, including the mastermind, from the India-Nepal border in the Sonya Tapkir murder case, said officials on Monday.
The accused have been identified as Karan Ratan Rokade, 25, a resident of Chikhali; Rutwik alias Mungya Ratan Rokade; Rinku Dinesh Kumar, 19; and a minor were arrested from the India-Nepal border last week.
On May 22, Karan Rokade, the prime accused, along with his associates, killed Sonya Tapkir in Chikhali to create terror in the area. Following the murder, the accused travelled to Lonavala, Goa, Madhya Pradesh (MP), Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh (UP) to evade arrest. During technical analysis however, the police identified the accused and launched a search operation to nab them. Last week, the police got a tip-off that Karan Rokade was in UP and trying to cross over into Nepal. Thereafter, the police launched a search operation near Madhuban in UP and arrested all the accused.
According to the police, 11 first information reports (FIRs) have been registered against Karan Rokade, 10 against Rutwik Rokade, and two against Dinesh Kumar at various police stations in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad. The accused were produced in court and the court remanded them to custody till July 6.
During interrogation, the prime accused confessed to hatching the plot to kill Sonya Tapkir due to the latter’s increasing dominance in the area, according to police officials.
A case has been registered at Chikhali police station under sections 302 and 120(B) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and other relevant sections, and further investigation is underway.
