Mumbai: Man stabs neighbour to avoid repaying loan

A 25-year-old man allegedly stabbed his neighbour at a chawl in Andheri (West) on Thursday to avoid repaying a loan he took from her. The accused, Sameer Ramchandra Karkar, has been arrested.

A 25-year-old man allegedly stabbed his neighbour at a chawl in Andheri (West) on Thursday to avoid repaying a loan he took from her. The accused, Sameer Ramchandra Karkar, has been arrested.

The victim, Prabhavati Ghosade, used to work as a domestic help and lived in a chawl at Gaondevi Dongri with her son. Karkar lives a few houses away.

The DN Nagar police said Karkar had borrowed Rs 30,000 from her a few months ago and repaid half the amount. For more than a month, Ghosade has been asking him to return the rest.

“During our preliminary interrogation, Karkar said he killed Ghosade because he did not want to return the money. We are trying to find out if there was any other motive,” said DS Nalavade, senior inspector, DN Nagar police station.

“Around 9.30pm on Thursday, Karkar went to Ghosade’s house and locked it from inside. He picked up a kitchen knife and stabbed her several times. There are stab wounds on her abdomen and other parts of the body,” said another officer.

When Ghosade started screaming for help, Karkar slit her throat. However, Ghosade’s cries alerted another neighbour, Vikram Bhatavkar, who rushed to her house, but found the door locked. Bhatavkar said he climbed a window grill and saw Karkar holding the knife. He told the other residents, who caught Karkar and handed him over to the police.