Kin plotted Manoj Mhatre’s murder

Mumbai: A day after Bhiwandi Congress corporator Manoj Mhatre (53) was killed by a group of seven men, who shot at him with a 12-bore gun and then hacked him with a knife on Tuesday night near his residence, the police found that his cousin, Prashant (32) a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) member, had led the attack and brought six others in a car and a bike. So severe was the attack that Manoj’s wrist was severed completely.

Prashant had allegedly made an abortive bid on Mhatre’s life four years ago and was out on bail in the case.  The police has leads on the accused, who are absconding, thanks to CCTV footage procured from the scene of crime and two eye-witnesses: Mhatre’s driver and the building’s watchman.

According to the police and the driver, who is the complainant in the case and was working Mhatre for the last 10 years, Prashant had an old dispute with the deceased over the fact that he held him responsible for his not getting a chance to contest civic polls to become a corporator on a Congress ticket. Prashant’s father was a corporator as well and after the latter passed away in 2002, it was Mhatre who took over his mantle. Mhatre got the chance to contest from the seat of Prashant’s father, as the latter was too young then. “Over the past 15 years, Manoj was the coporator of  Bhiwandi’s Anjur area. Seven years ago, Prashant wanted to become a corporator but it was Mhatre who got to contest again, triggering a feud between them. A disappointed Prashant later joined another party,” said a police source.

Minutes before the attack, Mhatre had asked his two bodyguards, one of who was carrying a firearm, to leave for home even as his vehicle was about to enter his building compound, where his would-be killers were waiting to target him. Mhatre had earlier in the day gone to the police to file against Prashant as he suspected the latter of issuing a death threat to one of his aides, Umashankar Yadav.

The police source said, “On Tuesday afternoon, Yadav received a death threat.  He suspects that Prashant was behind it. So Yadav and Mhatre went to Narpoli police station to file complaint against him. After that Mhatre dropped Yadav at his home and came back to his house in Oswal wadi.”

DCP Manoj Patil said, “Around 9 pm he entered the building when only his driver and the watchman were there. He was on the phone when four people stabbed him 23 times with koyata and fired two rounds. They then ran into the car and a bike that were parked outside. We have four teams that are searching for the accused.”

Speaking about Mhatre, Bhiwandi Congress president Shoeb Guddu said, “He was a very strong leader. We don’t think there any political angle because we know his Prashant, who has several grudges.”