Santosh Verma was so desperate to buy a motorcycle that he killed 22-year-old Rohit Jadhav at Carter Road for it.
The Crime Branch arrested the 27-year-old mechanic and his accomplice Jitendra Verma on Monday for murdering Jadhav, who was with his girlfriend on the rocks behind Jogger’s Park on September 2.
Santosh, Jitendra and another family member, Rajesh Shukla, had approached the couple as members of a Janmashtami mandal, seeking a donation. Santosh stabbed Jadhav when he refused and the trio escaped with his girlfriend’s chain.
“He was ready to do anything for the bike,” said Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Rakesh Maria, referring to Santosh, who had struck a deal to buy a second-hand motorcycle for Rs 10,000. Santosh, who runs a tyre repair shop at Khar Danda, was short by a mere Rs 1,000, Maria said. He plotted with his 25-year-old cousin Jitendra to rob couples on the Carter Road promenade to make up the shortfall.
“They decided to loot the first couple they came across,” Maria said. On the way, they met and took along Santosh’s nephew Rajesh. “Unfortunately, Jadhav and his girlfriend were the first couple they came across,” Maria said.
The Crime Branch’s Unit 9 arrested Santosh and Rajesh after a tip-off on Monday; Jitendra was arrested last week. The bloodstained knife was recovered from Santosh’s shop and the chain from Jitendra’s wife.
{{/usCountry}}The Crime Branch’s Unit 9 arrested Santosh and Rajesh after a tip-off on Monday; Jitendra was arrested last week. The bloodstained knife was recovered from Santosh’s shop and the chain from Jitendra’s wife.
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