A day after two people, including a senior citizen, were found murdered in their flat in a posh residential complex, Thane police has arrested two youngsters for the crime.
A day after two people, including a senior citizen, were found murdered in their flat in a posh residential complex, Thane police has arrested two youngsters for the crime. Money was the reason for the murder and the fact that one of the accused was angry with the deceased for having fired him, the police said.
On Tuesday, Sitaram Shroff (70), a resident of Regency Heights in Brahmand locality on Ghodbunder Road was found dead with his throat slit and a pillow stuffed into his mouth. Mr Shroff's caretaker, Santosh Lavangare (34), was also found murdered; he had been attacked with a sharp weapon. The police initially suspected that a property dispute was behind the murder however later found it to be a revenge killing.
The arrested accused have been identified as Prashant Pawar (28) and Ashish Yadav (19). Police said that Pawar was Shroff’s former caretaker but had recently been fired nearly two months ago. “Pawar had a fight after Shroff's granddaughter suspected him of having stolen '5,000 along with routinely stealing household items. He was not regular in his job and hence, was fired,” said a Thane police officer. “Pawar had been hired since his father had served the family for nearly a year but had to quit due to health reasons. However, they did not like his behaviour and fired him,” the officer added.
Thereafter, the family hired Lavangare as a caretaker and he happened to know Pawar. On the day of the murder, Pawar, along with Yadav, visited the Shroff residence on the pretext of meeting everyone. “Since Lavangare knew them, he let them in without any suspicion. They even chatted with him for nearly ten minutes before attacking him,” said the officer. Police sources said that the duo first attacked Lavangare and then proceeded to murder Shroff.
“They hit Lavangare and also stabbed him with a sharp knife, causing him to bleed. After that, they moved to the bedroom where Shroff was lying down and first strangled him and then slit his throat. Murders committed, they stole about '25,000 and some valuables that were lying around the house,” the officer informed.
During the preliminary probe, Shroff’s granddaughter who stayed with him mentioned Pawar and that he had been fired and the police then brought him in for questioning. During interrogation, Pawar allegedly confessed to the crime and led police to Yadav. The arrested accused have been booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and remanded to police custody.
