Mumbai Sena leader murder: Charge sheet filed, motive missing

Sachin Sawant, a Shiv Sena leader, was shot by two bike-borne men, while he was returning home from a party meeting nearby.

The charge sheet submitted by the Kurar police in the killing of Sachin Sawant, who was gunned down on April 22, pins the murder on seven men. However, even with statements of Sawant’s son and the developers of the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) project he was spearheading, the charge sheet fails to answer the question: why was Sawant eliminated?

The charge sheet submitted by the police in the Sachin Sawant murder case in August, was heard by the Dindoshi sessions court on Thursday. (HT File)

Sawant, a Shiv Sena leader, was shot by two bike-borne men, while he was returning home from a party meeting nearby.

The charge sheet submitted by the police earlier in August, was heard by the Dindoshi sessions court on Thursday. It has named Lokesh Singh, 25, Ajay Patil alias Barkya, 26, Satyendra alias Sonu Pal, 24, Brijesh Patel, 36, Nilesh Sharma, 27, Brijesh Singh, 28 and Amit Singh, 24, as the accused in the case.

The police have attached CCTV footage, evidence of the firearm used, and witness accounts. The charge sheet also details that Sawant was chased by the killers and shot twice. It also includes the statement of Sawant’s 21-year-old son Omkar, which is deemed crucial to the case, apart from that of the developers — Ramkumar Pal and Vasant Sethiya.

The charge sheet claims that Patel, the primary accused, was one of the main persons opposing the SRA project that Sawant was working on. Omkar, in his statement, said, “Fifty to 60 members of Prabhat Welfare Society, of which Patel was a part, were opposing the SRA project. Patel started protesting against the project, after the foundation laying ceremony was done.”

Although the project was being jointly redeveloped by Pal’s Akash Developers and Sethiya, Pal said monthly expenses incurred by Patel were paid for by Sethiya. This claim was corroborated by Akshay Kothari, the legal and liaising head of Sethiya Infrastructure. As per Sethiya’s statement, Patel had been hired sensing the opposition from north Indian residents in the chawl.“Twenty to 25 houses were in the list of the group Patel represented [who were opposing the project]. They had been asked to vacate the houses,” said Sethiya.

The charge sheet also mentions another accused, Nilesh Sharma, who was once closely associated with Sawant. The two grew apart after Sawant refused to intervene in a molestation case against Sharma.

Omkar, in his statement, said, “Some poor people got two houses instead of one. Sharma’s name also cropped up on the list, but my father opposed it. Sharma then joined Patel’s group.”

Omkar’s statement also showed how the accused created dispute among the residents and the developers and Sawant, days before he was shot. “As per an SRA survey, some huts would not be entitled to the project. My father had an argument with Sharma and some other men,” he said.