45-yr-old was nabbed while trying to destroy evidence.
The Kasturba police have arrested a 45-year-old construction material supplier from Borivli in connection with the murder of a recovery agent who had gone to collect money the accused had lost on cricket betting.
The accused, Hasmukh Dedhia, was spotted by a former crime branch officer, Raghunath Dalvi, on Friday morning when he was getting rid of the blood-stained clothes in the Sanjay Gandhi National Park. Dalvi nabbed him and informed the police.
Dedhia used to place bets through a Mira Road-based bookie, Rajesh Giri, and had lost Rs16 lakh a few months ago. Since then, Giri had repeatedly asked him to repay the money.
On Thursday afternoon, Giri sent Amarnath Yadav, a recovery agent, to collect the money from Dedhia. Yadav reached Dedhia’s house in Borivli (E) around 3pm, and the two went up to the building’s terrace to discuss the issue.
When Yadav was distracted for a moment, Dedhia hit him on the head from behind with a sharp object. Police said the blow must have killed Yadav instantly.
Dedhia then washed the blood stains on the terrace. He then wrapped Yadav’s body in a piece of cloth and left it on the terrace through the night.
On Friday at 7.30am, he put Yadav’s body in his car and drove down to the national park. Finding a secluded spot, he dumped Yadav’s body. He then went further inside the park to get rid of the blood-stained clothes he was wearing while committing the crime.
“Dalvi was out jogging when he saw Dedhia trying to dump the clothes. Suspecting foul play, he called us and we immediately took Dedhia in custody. We have recovered Yadav’s body. Though Dedhia claims that he used a jimmy to hit Yadav, we suspect a sharp object like a chopper was used,” a police officer from Kasturba police station said.
Dedhia, who is currently in police custody, has been booked for murder.
Bad timing
Former crime branch officer, Raghunath Dalvi, was out jogging in Sanjay Gandhi National Park when he spotted a man trying to get rid of blood-stained clothes. After questioning the man, who turned out to be the accused Hasmukh Dedhia, Dalvi called the police.
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