Businessman murder: Two real estate agents held
TNN | Updated: Jan 19, 2019, 05:47 IST
Representative imagePUNE: Police on Friday arrested two real estate agents for the murder of businessman Rikabchand Oswal (70), whose body was found near Varandha ghat at Bhor on the Pune-Mahad highway, about 90km from here, on January 14.
The crime branch of the Pune rural police identified the two as Mahendra Bodke(29), a resident of Dhankawadi, and Ajit Barmukh (28) of Indiranagar in Bhosari.
Probe revealed that Bodke was in debt and had hatched the plot with Barmukh to abduct Oswal, who was into the construction business and land dealing, and extort money from him. The duo allegedly killed the elderly businessman because he refused to pay them Rs 40 lakh as per their demand.
A team of the local crime branch, led by inspector Padmakar Ghanwat, arrested Bodke and Barmukh.\
Police said Bodke and Barmukh knew Oswal for nearly two years. “Bodke was not doing well professionally because of the slowdown in the real estate sector. He had taken a loan of Rs 20 lakh, but could not repay it. His plan was to extort money from Oswal and to repay the loan,” Ghanwat said.
On January 10, Bodke took Oswal to his flat in Ambegaon on the pretext of entering into a land deal. “On reaching the flat, Bodke and Barmukh demanded Rs 40 lakh from him. When Oswal refused to pay the amount, they tied him to the bed and gagged him,” the officer said.
During questioning, the duo told the police that they did not want to kill Oswal. “They said Oswal died because he was gagged and did not get his medicines for blood pressure. However, the autopsy report stated that he had been hit on the head,” Ghanwat said.
Oswal died in the early hours of January 11, following which the duo concealed his body in a gunny bag.
“On January 13, they hired a vehicle from a cab aggregator and told the driver that they wanted to transfer some luggage to their native place in Bhor. They dumped the bag in the forest area,” Ghanwat said.
The police initially had no clues about the suspects. “During the probe, we came to know that Bodke was in contact with Oswal. We also found that Bodke had a criminal background,” Ghanwat said.
The police laid a trap and caught Bodke. “During questioning, he admitted to his involvement in the murder and revealed Barmukh’s role as well,” Ghanwat said.
Bodke’s mother is undergoing treatment at a private hospital. “We asked Bodke to call up Barmukh and tell him to visit the hospital on Friday morning. Our personnel were at the hospital, posing as patients. They caught Barmukh when he reached the hospital with his face covered,” the officer said.
The crime branch of the Pune rural police identified the two as Mahendra Bodke(29), a resident of Dhankawadi, and Ajit Barmukh (28) of Indiranagar in Bhosari.
Probe revealed that Bodke was in debt and had hatched the plot with Barmukh to abduct Oswal, who was into the construction business and land dealing, and extort money from him. The duo allegedly killed the elderly businessman because he refused to pay them Rs 40 lakh as per their demand.
A team of the local crime branch, led by inspector Padmakar Ghanwat, arrested Bodke and Barmukh.\
Police said Bodke and Barmukh knew Oswal for nearly two years. “Bodke was not doing well professionally because of the slowdown in the real estate sector. He had taken a loan of Rs 20 lakh, but could not repay it. His plan was to extort money from Oswal and to repay the loan,” Ghanwat said.
On January 10, Bodke took Oswal to his flat in Ambegaon on the pretext of entering into a land deal. “On reaching the flat, Bodke and Barmukh demanded Rs 40 lakh from him. When Oswal refused to pay the amount, they tied him to the bed and gagged him,” the officer said.
During questioning, the duo told the police that they did not want to kill Oswal. “They said Oswal died because he was gagged and did not get his medicines for blood pressure. However, the autopsy report stated that he had been hit on the head,” Ghanwat said.
Oswal died in the early hours of January 11, following which the duo concealed his body in a gunny bag.
“On January 13, they hired a vehicle from a cab aggregator and told the driver that they wanted to transfer some luggage to their native place in Bhor. They dumped the bag in the forest area,” Ghanwat said.
The police initially had no clues about the suspects. “During the probe, we came to know that Bodke was in contact with Oswal. We also found that Bodke had a criminal background,” Ghanwat said.
The police laid a trap and caught Bodke. “During questioning, he admitted to his involvement in the murder and revealed Barmukh’s role as well,” Ghanwat said.
Bodke’s mother is undergoing treatment at a private hospital. “We asked Bodke to call up Barmukh and tell him to visit the hospital on Friday morning. Our personnel were at the hospital, posing as patients. They caught Barmukh when he reached the hospital with his face covered,” the officer said.
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