The Panvel City police arrested three friends on Thursday night for stabbing a 30-year-old man to death over a month-old quarrel.
The police said that the main accused, identified as Rupesh Raju Ninawe (23), stayed in B wing of Sai Shraddha Apartment in Old Panvel, while the victim, Ashish Ashok Naik (30), was a resident of C wing.
Senior Police Inspector Vinod Chavan said, “Mr. Ninawe and his friends accidentally brushed against Naik’s father in a drunken state and he picked up a quarrel over the issue. After this incident, Mr. Ninawe harboured a grudge against Naik and plotted with his friends to murder him.”
While Mr. Ninawe worked as a dance choreographer, Naik was a real estate agent, who stayed with his wife and parents. On Thursday night, Mr. Ninawe went to Naik’s house, but found that he had gone out. Mr. Ninawe and his friends Nilesh Waleghar (18) and Nagraj Pandey Kondhlya (19), residents of Govandi, found Naik 100 metres away from the society and stabbed him. They then fled on a motorcycle.
Bystanders informed the police control room about the murder. The Panvel City police sent a team to nab the trio and alerted nearby police stations about the suspects. The trio had to abandon their bike at Kalamboli as it had run out of petrol. A police team on patrolling duty found the movements of the trio suspicious and nabbed them. Mr. Chavan said, “We have recovered a sickle, a knife and the bike used in the crime.”
