Murder of Thane corporator: Mhatre’s cousin, 7 others booked

Following the murder, shops in Kalwar, Oswalwadi, Kharbhav Road, and places within the jurisdiction of the Shantinagar police station were shut for safety reasons

A day after the murder of Congress corporator Manoj Mhatre, 53, the Bhiwandi police booked his cousin in connection with the case. The accused, Prashant Mhatre,30, allegedly fired at Manoj on Tuesday night, killing him.

Hundreds throng the funeral procession of corporator Manoj Mhatre at Kalwar village on Wednesday. (Praful Gangurde)

Following his death, shops in Kalwar, Oswalwadi, Kharbhav Road, and places within the jurisdiction of the Shantinagar police station were shut for safety reasons.

Prashant is said to be a member of a rival political party. Seven other party members — Chiranjiv Mhatre, Mithun Mhatre, Mahesh Mhatre, Sujit Mhatre, Mayur Mhatre and Ganesh Patil — have also been booked.

However, no arrests have been made yet as the police are on the lookout for the accused.

Police said the cousins had fought as Prashant envied Manoj’s position as a corporator. Issues over family property too could have been the motive behind the murder.

“Sources told us that Prashant wanted to become a corporator. He killed Manoj so he could contest on his seat,” said Sunil Jadhav, senior inspector, Narpoli police station.

One of Manoj’s relatives said Prashant had been pressuring him to vacate his seat for a long time.

The police said Prashant had also threatened Manoj’s colleague, Mulayam Yadav, who asked the corporator to accompany him to file a complaint at a local police station on Tuesday. The murder took place after Manoj returned home.

According to the police, Manoj’s family said they had seen Prashant attacking and verbally abusing the corporator in his building.

“Manoj’s family told us they saw Prashant attacking Manoj with a chopper. One of the victim’s hands was cut off in the scuffle. Before Manoj’s family could rescue him, Prashant fired three rounds, killing the corporator,” said Manoj Patil, deputy commissioner of police, zone 2.

The police said Manoj was stabbed more than 30 times.

“On seeing Manoj’s family approaching, the accused threw the weapon near the gate and fled. We recovered the chopper, which has bloodstains on it, ”he added.

“We have formed five teams to nab the accused.The Thane crime branch is also investigating. We will ask the eyewitnesses to identify the accused once they are detained,” said Patil.

Jadhav said they had questioned a dozen people, hoping to determine the accused’s whereabouts.Manoj was shot once in his back. He was first taken to private hospital nearby. However, when his condition deteriorated, he was taken to Jupiter Hospital in Thane. He died during treatment.

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