RTI activist shot dead in Kalina, property dispute may be motive

MUMBAI: Right to Information activist Bhupendra Vira, 61, was shot dead at his home in Kalina in Santacruz (East) by unknown people on Saturday night.

MUMBAI: Right to Information activist Bhupendra Vira, 61, was shot dead at his home in Kalina in Santacruz (East) by unknown people on Saturday night.

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Vira, who was into manufacturing steel utensils, lived in Razzak chawl behind Kalina mosque. The incident took place when Vira was watching television in the bedroom, while his wife was cooking in the kitchen. The assailant or assailants came from the living room, shot Vira in the head and fled, said the police.

Neither the wife nor Vira’s neighbours heard the gunshot, leading the police to suspect the accused may have used a gun with a silencer. His wife told the police that she heard a sound, but wasn’t sure if it came from the bedroom or TV. A neighbour saw Vira lying in a pool of blood and alerted his wife, after which the police were informed.

The police suspect the murder was fallout of a property dispute and are questioning an ex-corporator, named by Vira’s family. “Vira had a property dispute with the ex-corporator and had filed RTI applications to get information on it. We are probing if the murder was a result of the dispute,” said an investigating officer. A case of murder has been registered against six unidentified people. The police said they were confident of solving the case soon. The local crime branch unit, too, is running a parallel probe.

The chawl has no CCTV cameras. The police are now looking for witnesses, who may have seen any suspicious person around.

“The bullet pierced his head and came out from the other side. The post-mortem will clear how many shots were fired. His family has given us a list of suspects. We are looking at all angles,” said Virendra Mishra, deputy commissioner of police, zone VIII.

The police have formed a special team of police officers and men within in zone to crack the case. Vira is survived by his wife, two sons and a daughter.