Vadodara: Crime branch sleuths on Monday arrested three Barodians in connection with a murder of a man in Jharkhand. Two of the accused allegedly killed Ranjit Mandal, a resident of Hazaribaug district on October 7 and returned to Vadodara. The police had received a tip-off on the basis of which they nabbed the accused.
According to the police, Mandal came to the city some time ago to appear for exams. He stayed at the home of his cousin brother Arjun Prasad Mandal who is the key accused. “Ranjit got into an illicit relationship with Arjun’s wife and had a physical relationship with her. Ranjit left for Jharkhand after giving the exams,” the police said.
Meanwhile, Arjun learnt about Ranjit’s relation with his wife and it angered him. He hatched a plan to kill Ranjit and took help of his friend Deepak Bavrava, a resident of Gotri. The duo drove to Jharkhand in a car in the first week of October. They met Ranjit at his home on October 7 and took him for a drive where Deepak allegedly strangled Ranjit sitting in the rear seat with a rope. They later disposed off his body by the roadside.
When Ranjit didn’t return home, his family began searching for him and later filed a missing persons complaint.
Ranjit’s family even told the police that they suspected Arjun’s role in the former’s disappearance. The Jharkhand police, meanwhile, traced Ranjit’s body. The Vadodara crime branch had received information that the murderers were from the city and traced them. Arjun runs Swagat Restaurant in Gotri and Deepak works in a garage. The cops have also arrested Arjun’s wife Maltidevi in the murder case.