Four college students hire car to Shirdi, kill driver

Four college students, who allegedly murdered a driver working in a travel agency in Shirdi, hoping to sell his car and make money, were arrested on Monday night.

Four college students, who allegedly murdered a driver working in a travel agency in Shirdi, hoping to sell his car and make money, were arrested on Monday night.

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Police said that the four youth had hired a vehicle to Shirdi from the travel agency and killed the driver on June 8, during the trip.

CCTV footage from the Sai Baba temple in Shirdi helped police identify and nab the accused. The arrested accused are Akash Salunkhe, 20, Ashish Saatpute, 20, Sachin Nichite, 22 and Dinesh Kaluram Farde, 20.

On June 8, police received a missing persons complaint from the owner of Sholak Tours and Travels, Revennath Shinde, and the family of the driver, Ghanshyam Pathak. The complaint said Pathak had not returned from Shirdi and his mobile phone was not reachable.

The police then tracked Pathak’s mobile number and found that the most recent activity was traced to near the Saibaba temple in Shirdi. One team went to Shirdi and got the CCTV footage from the temple and identified the accused.

“The teams began a search for the accused. They found out that a car had been seen between Shahpur and Kasara. They then traced the hiding place of the accused in Atgaon, and arrested them. They also seized the car. The accused confessed to the crime,” said inspector Sunil Patil from Mahatma Phule police station. The police have recovered Pathak’s body from Kasara Ghat.

A case has been filed under sections 363 (kidnapping) and 34 (joint conspiracy) of the IPC.