Builder killing: arrested attacker names Mumbai politician's brother

Venkatesh Shettiar, 35, the attacker who was chased and caught by an employee of the builder, said the man with him during the shooting is the brother of a politician in Mumbai. G Mohiuddin Jeddy reports. Caught on CCTV | Police speak

Venkatesh Shettiar, 35, the attacker who was chased and caught by an employee of builder Sunil Kumar, said the man with him during the shooting of the builder is the brother of a politician in the city.

Following the brutal attack on Kumar and after Shettiar was caught, the police beat him up, which is when he confessed that he had only accompanied his boss, the brother of the politician, who had come from Juhu.

Shettiar, who had head injuries in the scuffle with passers-by and Kumar’s employee, was taken to the trauma centre of NMMC hospital in Vashi where he received three stitches on one of his wounds.

The police then took him to Vashi police station. Police sources said he had told them he had killed Kumar and that he did so because he wanted to.

Sanjeev, Kumar’s brother, has, meanwhile, claimed that the killers named seven people (names withheld) with whom his brother had been at loggerheads with over some court cases.

No final rites: family
Kumar’s family, which received his body on Saturday evening, has refused to conduct the final rites till those responsible are arrested.

Kumar’s son, Sandeep, said, “My father had filed a court case on the illegal FSI used in buildings on Palm Beach Road. The court decision was expected on Monday and was expected in my father’s favour.”

Sandeep said, “The people named by us obviously were worried as they would have suffered and so they killed my father. We will not perform the final rites unless the police arrest all involved.”

Deputy commissioner of police Purushottam Karad said, “We are not aware of this. We are, of course, conducting our investigations.”controversies

Kumar had been arrested last September in an alleged extortion case, which he claimed was managed by his rivals to falsely implicate him.

Kumar had also reportedly filed a PIL in court stating that around 650 towers in the city had consumed illegal FSI.