Bhandup police on Saturday arrested a teenager and detained another for the murder of district level cricketer Rakesh Pawar. Late on Friday, the police had arrested Asif Khan, 45, and identified his son Sohail, 19, and a friend as suspects. Sohail was arrested on Saturday and his 17-year-old friend was also detained. Khan and Sohail have been booked under section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code.

The police said Pawar was killed because of strained relations between him and Sohail. “Animosity rising out of old dispute led to the murder,” said Akhileshkumar Singh, the deputy commissioner of police, zone 7.

Previously, on September 13, 2017, Sohail had allegedly knocked down Pawar’s brother, Ravi. “Sohail was booked for the accident case. The accident is one of the many reasons of animosity,” said Singh. Pawar’s family believes Sohail was angry with Pawar because the cricketer, who coached children in the area, confronted Sohail about a drug habit. While in the past Sohail has been booked for his involvement in a brawl, the police said there is no record of any drug-related cases against him.

On Thursday night, at around 11.45pm, Pawar was at a petrol pump on LBS Road with a friend. The police said Sohail, whose residence is close to the petrol pump, knew Pawar frequented this particular one. “It appears that the trio had planned the attack. There was an argument between Pawar and the accused after which he was attacked,” said Singh. Pawar was stabbed in the back of his head. A police vehicle reached the petrol pump after the attack and took Pawar to the hospital, where he was declared dead on arrival.

The main witness in the case is Pawar’s friend who gave the police a description of the accused. The police’s suspicions were raised when Khan and Sohail were not found at their residence on Friday. Khan was eventually arrested on Friday night while Sohail was arrested on Saturday. At the time of going to press, the police were checking documents to ascertain if the third accused, who has been detained, is a minor.

First Published: Jun 09, 2019 00:19 IST