A history-sheeter was murdered in the wee hours of Sunday by a group of youth in Bhandup area, following a heated argument. Bhandup police had registered a case of murder against 12 people, and have so far arrested five for their involvement.

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Those arrested have been identified as Sameer Chavan (21) Gautam Ghadge (25), Sagar Gavas (25), Ravi Ware (22) and Sameer Kadam (26).

According to the police, deceased Anil Pandey (30) is a history-sheeter and has at least 10 criminal cases registered against him in Bhandup, Vikhroli, Ghatkopar, and Kankavli in Konkan. He was associated with the notorious Kumar Pillai gang that operates in the Eastern suburbs, and resided with his family at Ramnagar Rawte in Bhandup.

An officer with Bhandup police narrated the chain of events that preceded the murder, saying: "On Saturday afternoon, Pandey had taken his pet dog for a walk. He reached a ground in Powai where a group of youth were playing cricket. Pandey's dog caught the cricket ball after the batsman hit it. Since Pandey refused to give back the ball, a heated exchange of words ensued between him and the boys."

The officer said that Pandey drank some alcohol later that evening, and went to a place in Bhandup where the youth would often hang out. He picked a fight with the group, allegedly abused them, and returned home.

The youth were irked with Pandey and decided to 'teach him a lesson'. "They assembled weapons and around 2.30 am on Sunday barged into Pandey's residence and attacked him with sword and knife," the officer added.

Pandey's family rushed him to a hospital in Mulund, where he died during treatment. The police was then informed.

The officer also said that the police rushed to Pandey's house and recovered a knife used in the crime. "We then managed to get hold of Chavan. Ghatkopar unit of crime branch, that was also probing the matter, got hold of the other four suspects. Seven more persons are wanted in the case," the officer added.