The trio arrested for 25-year-old photographer Prasad Mandavkar’s murder had also injected an acid-like poison in his body apart from spiking his soft drink, in order to ensure he was completely inactive to put up any resistance. Prasad had grown close to a woman that prime accused Sameer Rohikar (33) was in a relationship with, thereby infuriating him.
The three had picked up Mandavkar, a Tardeo resident, in a car from the Breach Candy Hospital area around 2:30 pm on January 7. “They then gave him a cold drink followed by one of them sticking a syringe with an anaesthetic-like acid in his neck. Prasad was completely incapacitated and was even breathing and mumbling when he was found stabbed under the Chedda Nagar bridge,” said an officer. He was stabbed multiple times on his head, neck and on the body and the murderers had taken away his valuables and cards to ensure he didn’t get identified. Mandavkar’s mother had meanwhile lodged a missing person complaint the same night at Tardeo police station.
After Prasad died on the operating table at Rajawadi Hospital in Ghatkopar (east), the Tilak Nagar police registered a murder case and flashed a wireless message with the physical description of the accused to check for any missing persons report filed in any nearby police station. After the Tardeo police responded and Prasad was identified, cops began interviewing his friends and acquaintances when they learnt about his previous arguments with Rohikar over the woman. .
“The woman had been abandoned by her husband a few years ago and used to operate a tiffin meal service when she developed a relationship with Rohikar. He was planning to ask for her hand in marriage but was not expecting her to grow close to Prasad. Prasad had even asked Rohikar to forget her as she no longer needed him,” another officer added.
