Five persons were arrested in Nagpur in Maharashtra on Friday for allegedly shooting dead two businessmen, burning their bodies and dumping them in the Wardha river, a police official.
Nirala Jaiprakash Singh (43) and Amrish Deodutt Gole (41) were reported missing on July 25, which led to personnel from Sitabuldi and Sonegaon police stations starting a probe, he said.
“The probe zeroed in on a half-burnt body near the Talegaon area, which was identified as that of Nirala. Using CCTV footage and other intelligence inputs, police managed to piece together details of how the two went missing," he said.
“It led to the arrest of five persons, including alleged mastermind Omkar Talmale who had lured the two businessmen into a money exchange trap to pay off debts," the official added.
As per the official, Talmale told the two businessmen they could convert Rs 2.80 crore he had as black money by paying Rs 1.50 crore.
“Lured by this offer of getting Rs 2.80 crore by paying Rs 1.50 crore, the two businessmen arrived and were taken to a farmhouse in Kondhali, some 50 kilometres from Nagpur city. Nirala and Gole were shot dead, their bodies were burnt with petrol from the vehicles of the accused. The bodies were thrown into Wardha River," he said.
The official identified the accused as Talmale, Lucky Turkule, Harsh Verma, Vishal Punaj, who is reportedly associated with the Bajrang Dal, and Danish Shivpeth. A minor has also been detained.
Kondhali police are probing further, the official added.
(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed - PTI)