Sealink stabbing: Cops claim murder weapon disposed by accused

The Bandra police, on Monday, while demanding custody of the two accused held for allegedly stabbing a toll booth supervisor on Bandra-Worli Sea Link (BWSL) informed, the Bandra Metropolitan Court magistrate that the duo had disposed of the weapon used in the crime.

On Sunday, Rahul Rege, 22, and Paleshwar Chavan, 25, were arrested by the Bandra police for assaulting BWSL's toll booth staffers and stabbing their supervisor. The duo allegedly had refused to pay the Rs 60 toll. When the staff tried to stop the car, the accused allegedly boasted about their political connections, and amid a scuffle, Chavan pulled out a knife and stabbed Kiran Chouhan, the toll booth supervisor. Chouhan, 35, was rushed to Lilavati Hospital for treatment and is said to be recovering from the injuries.

"The Bandra police in the court has claimed that they have failed to recover the weapon used in the crime and the accused must have disposed off the weapon," said the victim's advocate Satish Mishra.

Meanwhile, the Bandra police during interrogation learned from the accused that the duo has skipped toll on BWSL several times. "They had dodged the barricades twice earlier and threw around their political clout to not pay. But this time, the toll booth workers did not budge. The stabbing of the booth supervisor has been captured on the CCTV camera," an officer said.

"The accused have been remanded in police custody up to September 15. We are ascertaining if they have previous criminal records," he added.

ATTEMPT TO MURDER?

• During the next hearing, the victim's lawyer said they will request the court to consider adding section 307 (attempt to murder) of the Indian Penal Code against the accused as the injury is of serious nature.
   
• "The stab wound is near the kidney, which could have been fatal if the victim was not rushed to the hospital in time," Mishra said.