The family of Manoj Maurya, a 35-year-old digital weighing machine technician who was shot dead in Dadar on Friday, suspect business rivalry as the motive behind the murder, said police. The police are yet to identify the man who followed Maurya to a distance and shot him in the upper back near Mhatre Pen Indo Co-op Society, when he was on his way to the Dadar flower market to deliver a machine to a shopkeeper.
According to Maurya’s family, he used to leave for work with a bag carrying his tools around 6.30am. At times, his brother, Sanjay, dropped him in his taxi. On Friday, Maurya decided to walk the distance, instead of taking a taxi. He had planned to go ahead to work after the delivery, instead of returning home.
Sanjay, who found Maurya dead near Mhatre Pen Indo Co-op Society Ltd within half-an-hour of leaving the house, is shocked. “When I reached the place where I usually park my taxi, there was crowd at the spot. Curious, I enquired with passers-by, who told me a man was murdered. I stepped forward only to find out that it was my brother,” said Sanjay, who then rushed him to KEM hospital, where he was declared dead on arrival.
Sanjay feels it is unlikely that his brother may have been killed over money dispute. “Maurya has been in the business for 10 years. His business picked up over the last one year, mainly because he offered services at half the current rate, and his competitors were not happy with it,” said Sanjay. “He had told us about some competitor who asked him not to enter their area. We suspect he has been killed over business rivalry,” said Krishna, Maurya’s cousin.
{{/usCountry}}Sanjay feels it is unlikely that his brother may have been killed over money dispute. “Maurya has been in the business for 10 years. His business picked up over the last one year, mainly because he offered services at half the current rate, and his competitors were not happy with it,” said Sanjay. “He had told us about some competitor who asked him not to enter their area. We suspect he has been killed over business rivalry,” said Krishna, Maurya’s cousin.
{{/usCountry}}The Dadar police have registered a case under section 302 (punishment for murder) of the Indian Penal Code and section 3/25 of the Arms Act. “We have scanned the CCTV footage, where Maurya is seen walking. A man is seen following him for two minutes, after which he is seen running in the opposite direction. We are trying to ascertain the identity of the assailant,” said a police officer, requesting anonymity.
Vikram Deshmane, deputy commissioner of police, zone 5, said different teams have been formed to investigate the murder. The Mumbai crime branch, too, has started a parallel probe into the matter.
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