Woman who owned part of disputed Kurar land was also killed in 2006

A woman, from whom a part of the land was purchased, was killed and the current developer was among the arrested persons, according to the charge sheet.

The plot in Kurar village which led to the murder of Shiv Sena leader Sachin Sawant, has been disputed for decades and has been witness to suits, petty clashes and another murder in 2006. A woman, from whom a part of the land was purchased, was killed and the current developer was among the arrested persons, according to the charge sheet.

The plot in Kurar village which led to the murder of Shiv Sena leader Sachin Sawant, has been disputed for decades and has been witness to suits, petty clashes and another murder in 2006. (HT Photo/Representative)

One of the current developers, Ramkumar Pal, was arrested in connection with the 2006 murder case of Dhanashri Ringade, who had sold the land to him for Rs1.5 crore, the statement of Kandivli-based construction businessman Gajendra Tiwari revealed.

Tiwari, who came to Mumbai in 1978, with the help of his brother, went on to own 12 autos. “With the help of friends, I built a chawl in Pushpa Park, Malad (East) and sold it. It was the time I met Raja, who worked in the film industry,” Tiwari said in his statement. Through his construction business, he met Pal, who hailed from his native village Bhadohi in Uttar Pradesh.

Pal had purchased 6.5 acres of land in Kurar village from Lalwani, the owner of the land. Part of this land — an acre and six gunthas —was owned by one Parvatibai and Ringade. Tiwari had given ₹5 lakh to Pal to purchase the land while there was a legal dispute between Lalwani and Nayana Builders. In 2006, Pal bought this land from the two women for ₹1.5 crore. However, Ringade and Parvatibai made another deal with one Patel to sell the land for the same price.

The charge sheet says that Ringade was then stabbed to death in Goregaon. Raja, Tiwari and Pal were arrested. Tiwari was accused of orchestrating the murder by taking money from Pal. Another controversy related to the land cropped up in 2010 when there was an attempt to murder Sawant. Various witness’ statements in the charge sheet talks about the incident when three persons barged into Sawant’s office and shot at him. Samarbahadur Yadav, one of the two wanted persons, was arrested this week from Daman.