3 arrested in NCP leader Sachin Kurmi murder case
Sachin Rammurath Kurmi, leader of the Byculla division of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP)’s Ajit Pawar faction. Kurmi was stabbed at least 20 times on Friday night in the Ghodapdeo area of Byculla
Mumbai: The Byculla police on Sunday arrested the three men for their alleged involvement in the murder of Sachin Rammurath Kurmi, leader of the Byculla division of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP)’s Ajit Pawar faction. Kurmi was stabbed at least 20 times on Friday night in the Ghodapdeo area of Byculla when he was out for a walk after dinner.
The accused are Ananda Ashok Kale alias Anil alias Anya, 39, a driver by profession and a resident of the Ghodapdeo area in Byculla East, the main accused. The two other accused, Vijay Kakade alias Papaya, 34, a delivery boy, and Prafulla Pravin Patkar, 26, a photographer, also stay in Byculla.
All three accused have criminal records against them. The main accused, Kale, has 10 cases, including attempt to murder and body offences in Byculla and other police stations in the city.
Kale accused Kurmi of having used his influence to frame him in past cases and filing many non-cognisable complaints against him, so he was irked by the latter and took his revenge by targeting him, said a police officer. The other two accused allegedly helped Kale execute the murder, the officer added.
The trio was detained from Badlapur on Saturday night and arrested on Sunday. They were produced in a court on Sunday and have been remanded into police custody till October 15. The police also have a few other suspects under the scanner and the interrogation of the arrested accused is going on to get further details, a police officer said.
A police official, who is a part of the investigation team, said, “There are other suspects involved in the case. One suspect, who might have been admitted to a hospital in Pune on Friday morning, is close to one of the ruling parties in the state. His role is being probed, while another suspect has been detained by the police and is a worker of one of the ruling parties and is also attached to a Mathadi workers’ union. Their roles in the murder are being probed.”
Kurmi is known to file RTIs and due to this several people were also against him. Recently, he filed an RTI against a political party worker after the latter’s son had gotten a government job, added the officer.
The murder took place around 12.30 am on Saturday. “On Friday night after dinner, he went out for a walk, which was his regular habit. It was when three people came on a bike with their faces covered and stabbed him in the stomach, head, neck, hands and chest with sharp objects and fled. He was stabbed at least twenty times after which he was immediately rushed to JJ Hospital in Byculla where he was declared dead.
The police have registered a case under sections 103 (1) (murder), 61 (2) (criminal conspiracy) and 238 (causing disappearance of evidence of the offence or giving false information to screen offender) of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.
The deceased stayed with his wife Anupama, 41, son Shreyas, 17, and daughter Yuti, 21, at Prabhakar Nagar in Byculla. His brother Mahesh’s family also stayed with him. The family ran chains of unisex saloons named ‘Kaichii’, which has branches in the Ghodapdeo area, Kalachowkie and Curry Road.
Kurmi was associated with NCP Ajit Pawar and was the president of the Byculla district unit of the party. He was considered close to party leader and minister leader Chhagan Bhujbal.