Mumbai: Gambling, sex addiction led cops to killer driver

Gambling and sex addiction of a driver who was holedup in Nepal after killing and looting Ramchand Kakrani 75 the owner of a Virarbased petrol pump in connivance with his two accomplices last month helped crime branch sleuths of Mira Bhayandar Vasai Virar MBVV police strategise their investigative paths Above all the killerrsquos call from Nepal to his regular sex worker Archana in Malad confirmed the investigatorsrsquo suspicions and guided their strategyThe three killers had looted an expensive wristwatch a diamondstudded gold ring and Rs 50000 cash from the petrol pump owner Since the cash was running out fast in Nepal the trio had been desperately trying to sell expensive items to meet their gambling and sex addiction demandsNearly 36 officials from Crime Branch Unit 2 and the Central Crime Branch of MBVV police worked for 18 days to arrest the 58yearold driver Mukesh Khubchandani and his accomplice Anil Rajkumar 32 Ramlal Yadav is still on the run Crime Branch Unit 2 in charge Inspector Sahuraj Ranaware said ldquoInitially they had planned to kill Kakrani elsewhere but changed their plan and killed him at 539 pm on August 25rdquoFrom left Killer driver Mukesh Khubchandani petrol pump owner Ramchand Kakrani 75Central Crime Branch incharge Inspector Rahul Rakh said ldquoKakrani left his petrol pump in the evening and dozed off in his car on the way to his home in Ulhasnagar He was seated next to the driver Khubchandani When the car reached Bhiwandi Road Khubchandani stopped the car and Anil and Ramlal sat on the rear seatrdquoAccording to another crime branch officer when Kakrani asked the strangers who they were Anil replied saying they would get off at Bhiwandi ldquoKakrani asked them to get off immediately During the heated discussion Ramlal told Kakrani to hand over his wristwatch and ring worth over Rs 15 lakh Kakrani got furious and slapped himrdquoldquoAnil who was seated behind Kakrani took off his handkerchief and started strangling him Ensuring he is killed Anil and Ramlal decamped with Kakranirsquos watch and ringrdquo said the officer They switched off Kakranirsquos mobile phone and threw it at the spot where he was killed to show Khubchandani and Kakranirsquos location the same The driver also disposed of his mobile phone at the same spot ldquoThis was to misguide the investigating team and fend off any suspicious towards Khubchandanirdquo said a crime branch officialStolen items and cash recoveredAfter killing Kakrani Khubchandani drove the car with the body to the MumbaiAhmedabad highway parked it at a secluded place and left Changing multiple vehicles the trio got together had dinner at a hotel and boarded a public transport bus to the Gujarat border ldquoThey crossed the border on foot fearing they might get arrested if the murder news had spreadrdquo the officer said adding that they changed vehicles and travelled through Gujarat Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh to reach Nepal on August 28ldquoAnil has dual citizenship Nepal and India Ramlal is also from Nepal while Khubchandani is from Ulhasnagar He is addicted to gambling and Nepal having a weaker currency than India was like heaven to him The trio was hiding in Butwal city and had been changing hotels They used the cash looted from Kakrani for liquor gambling and sexrdquo the officer saidAfter Kakranirsquos body was found the day following his murder the police began searching for his driver Inspector Ranawarersquos team studied call data records CDR of Khubchandani ldquoWe came across the number of a woman who turned out to be a sex worker Archana based in Maladrdquo said a crime branch officerUsing Archanarsquos CDRs the officers discovered that she had received a call from Nepal and spoke for over an hour When the cops contacted Archana they learnt that Khubchandani had called her using the mobile phone of a sex worker in Nepal Archana informed the police that Khubchandani was a ldquosex maniac who cannot spend a night without a womanrdquoldquoDuring our legwork in Nepal we learnt that they were struggling to sell off the watch and ring They had also left their mobile number to a hotelrsquos reception to inform them if anyone wanted to buy these items Impersonating a buyer we contacted Anil and convinced them to cross the IndoNepal border The moment Anil and Khubchandani came to Gorakhpur we nabbed them with the help of local police officials in Uttar Pradeshrdquo said the officer ldquoWe have recovered the watch and ring from their possession along with some cashrdquo