Cops solve Turbe double murder

Mumbai: The Sanpada police cracked the Turbhe double murder case that involved the murder of two young men within a day after it arrested the culprit, a man who acted as a local guide for APMC and MIDC drivers seeking directions on the road.

The accused had killed the victims, Bala Gaikwad (22) and Samir Shaikh (20), in a fit of rage for extorting Rs 260 from him. A few days ago, the murdered duo, who were allegedly unemployed drug addicts had extorted Rs 20, 000 from the arrested accused that made him angry, according to the police.

The victims were found murdered under a flyover at Turbhe in Navi Mumbai on Wednesday morning. The accused, Prabhakar Dhotre alias Prabhu, 38, had smashed the heads of Gaikwad and Shaikh with a stone piece.

"Gaikwad and Shaikh were drug addicts who would harass Dhotre and the day of incident too they had forcefully taken Rs 260 from him. Dhotre would be present under the Turbhe flyover to help truckers with direction and would make a few bucks," said Suraj Padvi, senior inspector of Sanpada police station.

Dhotre attacked them when they took away the money from him in wee hours while he was asleep. He was questioned in the case, however, he tried to mislead the police. Subsequently, he confessed of the killing and revealed the whole story. The duo were unemployed and would harass him regularly, he told the police.

The murders came to light after locals spotted them lying in a pool of blood and informed the police about it. They were rushed to a nearby hospital, where they were declared dead on arrival, officials said.

Dhotre has been booked under section 302 (murder) and has been remanded to police custody for further investigation.