Maharashtra: Three held for two murders connected to water vending business in trains

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Three persons were arrested for allegedly murdering two water vendors and dumping their bodies in Kasara ghat and Vaitarna river, a police official said on Monday, reported news agency PTI.

The body of one of the victims was found on February 6 after which a probe began, Kasara police station senior inspector KD Kolhe said, reported PTI.

Meanwhile, Palghar police managed to arrest three persons who had fled to Hyderabad after killing a colleague, whose body was found in Vaitarna river on February 3.

"The police cracked the case as the victim's hand had some names tattooed. The victim was identified as Deepak Thoke (25). Further probe led to the arrests of Pentya Chittari (38), Saikumar Kadamaachi (22) and Kishore Shetye (29)," a Mokhada police station official said, reported PTI.

They confessed to killing Thoke as well as vendor whose body they had dumped in Kasara ghat, he said, reported PTI.

It was revealed that the accused and both victims had water vending business in trains and had a monetary dispute, the official added.

"The man whose body was found in Vaitarna river was killed in the house of a accused in Titwala. The Kasara ghat victim, identified as Rinku Gupta, had water vending business in trains in the Ulhasnagar region. A missing person report was filed in Ulhasnagar police station on February 2," the official added, reported PTI.

A fourth accused identified as Sagar Telang is on the run, the official said, reported PTI.

In another case, a man allegedly sexually assaulted a seven-year-old girl in Maharashtra's Palghar district and fled to Surat in neighbouring Gujarat, from where he was arrested two days later, police said on Saturday, reported PTI.

The incident occurred on Tuesday at Achole in Palghar, they said, reported PTI.

During a probe, the police found that the 28-year-old accused, who hails from Rajasthan, had also allegedly molested another girl a few months back in Palghar, an official said, reported PTI.

"Around 12.30 pm on February 13, the accused entered the victim's building and forcibly took her to the terrace, where he committed unnatural sexual assault on her," senior inspector Shahuraj Ranavre of crime unit-II in Vasai said, reported PTI.

Based on a complaint lodged by the victim, a case was registered under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 377 (unnatural offences) and 363 (kidnapping), and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act at Achole police station, he said.

"The crime branch officials formed a couple of teams to trace the accused. They checked the CCTV footage of the locality and found that he lived in a slum colony in Nalasopara in the district. As per the intelligence inputs, the police came to know that the accused was travelling by Ajmer Express," he said, reported PTI.

A police team followed him and nabbed him in Surat with the help of the local crime branch officials within 48 hours, he said.

"During his interrogation, it came to light that the accused had dragged another seven-year-old girl in Nalasopara to an isolated place and tried to molest her," Ranavre said, reported PTI.

A case under IPC section 354 (assault or use of criminal force to any woman, intending to outrage her modesty) and the POCSO Act was registered at Tulinj police station in connection with that incident, he said.

(With inputs from PTI)