Crime Branch officials of the Thane (Rural) police have solved the mystery of the four murders at Nallasopara.
Man killed uncle and family after they refused to return Rs30,000 they had borrowed
Crime Branch officials of the Thane (Rural) police have solved the mystery of the four murders at Nallasopara. Police arrested Ashok Ramasre Kanojia, 26, a resident of Dinesh Chawl in Naleshwar Nagar, Nallasopara (E). Ashok, a nephew of Kallu Kanojia, 45, the man who was killed along with his family, confessed to his crime and said he did it because his uncle refused to return the Rs30,000 he had borrowed from him four years ago. Ashok comes from the village Raipur Phulwari in Amethi, district Sultanpur in Uttar Pradesh.
Police recovered the bodies of Kallu, his wife Phulmati, 40, and daughters Nisha, 9, and Soni, 8, from near their house in Sai Sahara Building, Nallasopara, on November 11. Circumstantial evidence suggested that they were killed with a sharp weapon and a heavy object. A case of murder was registered with the Nallasopara police, and investigations handed over to the local crime branch. “We concentrated on the relatives of the deceased for leads,” Naval Bajaj, superintendent of police, Thane (Rural), said.
During investigations, it was revealed that all relatives of the Kanojias, except Ashok, attended the funeral. “This seemed unusual, since he was a close relative,” Bajaj added.
Further investigations revealed that Ashok had called his younger brother Nandu on November 11 and told him all. “When questioned, Nandu revealed that he knew Ashok had committed the murder and fled to Sultanpur,” Bajaj said. Senior police inspector LCB Nasir Pathan, along with his counterpart in the Special Task Force in Uttar Pradesh police, laid a trap for Ashok. He was nabbed from his in-laws’ house when he visited his wife, who was there.
When interrogated, Ashok confessed and revealed that he killed the Kanojias over the borrowed Rs30,000. “Ashok needed money for his sister’s marriage. But Kallu and Phulmati refused to repay him, despite repeated requests. The frustration led Ashok to settle for an initial repayment of Rs10,000,” Bajaj said. But Kallu and Phulmati did not give him that either. Moreover, Phulmati even taunted Ashok, saying he had no proof of the transaction.
On the fateful night, Ashok visited Kallu to demand the money. When he reached his house, Kallu and Phulmati were drinking. While Kallu went to sleep, Ashok had a squabble with Phulmati and, in a fit of anger, slit her throat with a kitchen knife and then smashed her head with a grinding stone, killing her instantly. He then killed Kallu and his daughters in a similar manner so that there would be no witnesses. “Ashok was in dire need of money, having sold a portion of his house in Sultanpur to arrange for sister’s wedding. He could not control his anger when Phulmati denied the amount that was due to him,” Bajaj said.
Ashok will be produced in court on November 16.
a_ashwin@dnaindia.net 
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