03 September,2017 08:50 AM IST | Mumbai | Chaitraly Deshmukh
An MBA dropout, who was promised help by a self-proclaimed baba to locate hidden treasure in his house, murdered the godman when he found no trace of the treasure and was unable to get back the Rs 10 lakh he had given him
Representational picture
An MBA dropout, who was promised help by a self-proclaimed baba to locate hidden treasure in his house, murdered the godman when he found no trace of the treasure and was unable to get back the Rs 10 lakh he had given him. The youth, Sujeet Vinayak Sonawane, 23, along with a 16-year-old accomplice, kidnapped and thrashed the godman, identified as UP-based Mohammad Hanif Shakur Shaikh, 75, till he died.The Pune rural police have arrested Sonawane from Khed and have detained the 16-year-old accomplice.
Senior inspector Kailash Ghodke, said, "Sujeet had met Shaikh six months ago through a friend. Initially, Sujeet had approached Shaikh for academic and health issues. After learning that Sujeet had sold some of his land for a few lakhs, Shaikh claimed that there was hidden treasure on his farm and inside his house. For this, he said he had to perform some rituals and took Rs 10 lakh from Sujeet. Accordingly, Sujeet made changes to his home but realised that he continued to suffer both on the academic front as well as on the health front and was yet to locate the treasure."
Ghodke added, "On August 17, Sujeet told the godman to return the Rs 10 lakh, but he refused. The duo then forcibly took him to an isolated place in the Junnar area and started beating him with belts and pipes. They thrashed him so much that he eventually died. They waited for two days and finally came to us. We have arrested Sujeet for murder."
