The police seized two pistols and six bullets from the men, which, Dahane said, had been used in the crime. (Representational Photo)

Four days after a civil contractor was shot dead just outside his office in the Navi Mumbai suburb of Ghansoli, the police on Monday arrested his business rival and two of his employees in the case.

The police established the role of civil contractor Jayesh Patil (37) as the main conspirator of the crime after nabbing his employees Santosh Dora (22) and Devendra Mali (22) in Kharghar early on Monday morning, said Pankaj Dahane, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Zone I.

Police said the accused fled the city soon after committing the crime. Officials at Rabale police station laid a trap after learning that Dora and Mali would be returning on Monday.

The police seized two pistols and six bullets from the men, which, Dahane said, had been used in the crime.

According to police, Patil, a resident of Talavali village in Ghansoli, grew up in the same area as the deceased, Pravin Tayade (40). “The men had been friends while growing up and both entered the same profession. After setting up their own businesses, both started to compete for same contracts for small civil projects in Ghansoli. This led to regular fights between them,” said an officer, who was part of the investigation team.

Dahane said Patil entrusted his employees to follow Tayade in a Maruti Alto car on the afternoon of June 4 and shoot him in the face. Tayade was returning home from work and was accompanied by his friend Dattatray Jogdand on his scooter. While Tayade died on the spot after being shot at point-blank range, Jogdand, who was riding pillion, suffered minor injuries after the scooter fell to the ground, the police said.

Dahane said that the two assassins parked the car on a service road in Koparkhairane and fled. Combining the description of the car and the men provided by Jogdand with CCTV footage in the locality, the police located the vehicle and found its windshield smashed.

Dahane added that the police are also probing where Patil procured the firearms and ammunition from and how much he paid his employees for killing his rival.