MUMBAI: More than two weeks after a Gujarat-based oil trader’s body was found in a dam in Talasari in Palghar district, the police arrested his friend and his aide on Monday. The friend, who is unemployed, was upset as the victim, Nilesh Rawal (29), refused to lend him money, said sources.
The police claimed that the accused, aged 38 and 28, had assumed that Nilesh was carrying a lot of cash and so kidnapped him and beat him to death only to find Rs 12,000 on him. Palghar superintendent of police Dattatray Shinde said the names of the accused have been withheld as they have to undergo identification parade under Section 9 of the Indian Evidence Act. They have been charged with abduction and murder under the IPC.
On November 4, Nilesh, a wholesale and retail dealer of oil, ghee and sugar in Umbergaon, went to Talasari, 24km away, on his motorcycle to take fresh orders and collect cash from previous deliveries. When he did not return home till late at night and his phone was unreachable, his father Chunilal contacted Talasari police. He told the police that Nilesh would travel to Talasari every Wednesday and return with Rs 1-10 lakh cash. Hours later, police found Nilesh’s bike abandoned on the road at Zari village.
On November 8, the police were informed about a body in a gunny bag floating in Kurje dam in Talasari. The body was identified as Nilesh’s.
During investigations, the police learnt that the 38-year-old friend had asked Nilesh for a loan during the lockdown, but the latter refused. The police questioned him, and he reportedly confessed to the crime.
The 38-year-old was aware of Nilesh’s trips to Talasari. He roped in his friend and they borrowed a car and intercepted Nilesh when he was returning home on November 4 evening, said the police. The friend again asked Nilesh to lend them money, but when he refused, the duo hit him on the head with a stick, dragged him into the car, beat him to death and took Rs 12,000, said the police. They stuffed his body in a gunny sack and threw it in the dam, officials added.