Panvel man was hacked into pieces for Rs 2K: Cops

The men then tried to burn the body, using clothes, papers and wood. However, only the torso got burnt, dividing the body into two parts. They then threw the parts on either side a ground.

Amarjeet Singh Pal, 40, whose hacked body parts were found near Panvel railway station on Monday and Wednesday, was murdered by five men over ₹2,000, according to Panvel city police.

Amarjeet Singh Pal, 40, man murdered in Panvel (HT)

The accused, Jitendra Yadav, 30, Moin Khatik, 22, Vikash Khatande, 20, Mallu Pujari, 25, and Dhanshyam Chandrakar, 22, all ragpickers, were arrested from a slum near the station on Thursday. “Pal had come to the city from his hometown in Uttar Pradesh on Sunday. He met the men near the station and asked them for a place where he could spend the night. They started to chat with him, and all of them sat to drink around a bonfire,” said Sunil Tarmale, sub-inspector, Panvel police station. “At one point, they saw that he had a few ₹100 notes in his pocket. They soon realised he had at least ₹2,000 with him and tried to snatch it. When Pal tried to save the bag, they attacked him with sticks. He suffered severe injuries in the attack and succumbed at the spot.”

The men then tried to burn the body, using clothes, papers and wood. However, only the torso got burnt, dividing the body into two parts. They then threw the parts on either side a ground.

Vinod Chavan, senior inspector, Panvel city police station, said, “On Monday afternoon, a local resident spotted the upper part of the body in one corner of the ground and informed us. It was sent to JJ Hospital for post-mortem. We got a call on Wednesday that lower limbs of a human body were found on the other side of the ground. We also found a photo identity proof near it. We then formed three teams to investigate the case.”

Tarmale said, “We summoned more than 15 people with criminal records. Acting on a tip-off, we finally zeroed in on the culprits and arrested them. They have been booked under sections 302 (punishment for murder), 201(causing disappearance of evidence of offence, or giving false information to screen offender) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). They were produced before a court and have been remanded in police custody. We are still checking if more people were involved in the crime.”