Matka king's son dies in Kolhapur hospital

Hitesh Bhagat, who was given life imprisonment for killing his own father, matka king Suresh Bhagat, died in a Kolhapur general hospital on Sunday morning. Bhagat was suffering from abdomen ailments for the past few years after he underwent liposuction surgery.

Deputy Inspector General (Prison) Rajendra Dhamne said, "Bhagat had informed Kolhapur prison authority about his ailment in the last month and following that he was being taken to the hospital for regular check-ups. But on March 11, after looking at his condition, he was admitted to the Kolhapur general hospital."

"We received a call from the hospital authority about Bhagat's death around 7.30am on Sunday. But, as of now, we have not received the medical report about the cause of the death," said Dhamne.

Bhagat was also suffering from low blood pressure.

"After he was convicted by the sessions court around eight months back, he was shifted to Kolhapur jail," said a jail source.

Bhagat and his mother Jaya Chedda had planned and executed the murder of Suresh Bhagat in a bid to take up his matka (gambling) business in Mumbai, Thane and several other districts. Suresh, along with six others, including his lawyer, were killed on Alibaug-Pen Road in June 13, 2008 when a truck rammed into their SUV when they were returning from an the Alibaug court after the hearing of a 1998 narcotics case.

Initially, the local police registered a case of rash driving but after investigations the Mumbai crime branch revealed that the accident had been allegedly planned. When the police interrogated the truck driver, Praveen Shetty, revealed that there was a conspiracy behind accident.

"During investigations, Shetty revealed the name of Harish Mandvekar. Madvekar then revealed the name of Suhas Roge who was allegedly in a relationship with Jaya. Roge was an alleged member of the Arun Gawli gang and told the police that Bhagat and Jaya had hatched the murder plan and gave him a supari of Rs45 lakh," said a police officer.