Andheri resident’s murder: A month on, three held from Gujarat

The Mumbai Crime Branch arrested three accused, including a moneylender, from Gujarat on Thursday for allegedly kidnapping and killing 59-year-old Deepak Panchal,

The Mumbai Crime Branch arrested three accused, including a moneylender, from Gujarat on Thursday for allegedly kidnapping and killing 59-year-old Deepak Panchal, an Andheri resident, whose body was found in a dam in Gujarat, last month.

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Police said the main accused, Jayantibhai Patel, 64, is a moneylender who had given a loan of ₹54 lakh to a Gujarat-based road contractor six month ago, and added that Panchal was a mediator in the deal. Panchal had taken ₹5 lakh as his share for introducing them. When the contractor did not repay the loan, the accused along with his two associates Karan Parmar alias Gopal, 27; and Rajubhai Agat, 35, kidnapped Panchal from outside his residence in Andheri (East) on September 29. The accused then killed Panchal on the way to Vadodara, and dumped his body in Brahmani dam.

The locals noticed the body on November 18 and informed the police. Morbi police identified the body based on the air ticket and cash found in Panchal’s pocket, and informed Andheri police, following which the crime branch started an investigation.