MUMBAI: A fire at a temple in Charkop that left three people dead early on Sunday has turned out to be a well-planned case of murder. Police on Monday arrested a 20-year-old resident, Bhavesh Chandurkar, and detained a 17-year-old boy. Investigators said Chandurkar did not see eyeto-eye with the temple’s president, Yuvraj Pawar (28). The trigger was an incident on Christmas, when Pawar hit Chandurkar (20) over a trivial issue.
Early on Sunday, Charkop police and fire brigade were informed about a fire at Shri Sai Sachhidanand Mitra Mandal’s temple in Bandar Pakhadi. Pawar was killed on the spot due to severe burns along with co-worker, Subhash Khode (28). Their friend, Mahesh Gupta (24) succumbed during treatment at a hospital. Forensic experts said a cooler exploded due to the presence of an inflammable substance. “This alerted us to the possibility of arson,” said additional commissioner Dilip Sawant.
Police made inquiries in the neighbourhood and learnt that Pawar and Chandurkar had been at loggerheads for a year-and-a-half. Once, Pawar had assaulted Chandurkar with a weapon and left him with a bloody nose. But the latter’s family discouraged him from filing a police complaint out of fear. Residents told police that Pawar would fight with Chandurkar over petty issues and abuse him. Pawar told Chandurkar to fetch cigarettes for him on December 25, and when he refused, Pawar hit him.
“Chandurkar wanted to teach Pawar a lesson and plotted with his teenaged friend,” said inspector Ghanshyam Nair. Chandurkar was an office boy with a material supplier and had been given a scooter by his employer. He took five litres of petrol from the vehicle and stored it in a can. With the teen’s help, he kept an eye on Pawar. On Sunday night, after Pawar, Khode and Gupta went to sleep at the temple, Chandurkar poured the liquid into the temple and struck a match around 4am.
The petrol came in contact with the cooler which exploded and burned Chandurkar’s hands and feet.
Chandurkar and the teen fled to the latter’s home in Kandivli (E). From there, Chandurkar moved to his aunt’s home in Vaijapur, Aurangabad. Police tracked him down through technical surveillance and arrested him on Monday. He has been treated for minor burns while the juvenile has been sent to an observation home at Dongri.
Chandurkar told police he only wanted to scald Pawar’s limbs. “Chandurkar and the teen were aware that Pawar was not alone in the temple and they were harming three people,” said Sawant. Chandurkar provided police a detailed timeline, which will form a part of evidence. Investigators have also accessed CCTV footage around the temple.