Mumbai: Businessman Nilesh Shukla, arrested on Sunday for the murder of Andheri resident Avinash Solanki, has said that money Solanki owed him led to the murder, investigating officers said on Monday.
Solanki, the key witness in the 2011 murders of Amboli residents Keenan Santos and Reuben Fernandes, was found bludgeoned to death in the early hours of August 20 in Mr. Shukla’s office. Investigations indicated that he had been murdered on the night of August 17, and the MIDC police arrested Mr. Shukla, his driver Vanshbahadur Singh, and bodyguard Ankit Dubey.
According to the MIDC police, Mr. Shukla and Solanki were the only ones in the office at the time of the murder, while Mr. Singh and Mr. Dubey were outside the room.
“Mr. Shukla has claimed that he and Solanki together had recently closed a business deal, for which Solanki received the payment. He said Solanki kept telling him that he would give him his share soon, but never did, which led to a dispute between them. On the night of the murder, they had had quite a lot to drink before the topic came up, leading to the argument,” an officer who is part of the investigation said.
The officer said Mr. Shukla’s claims need to be verified, as information unearthed in the investigation had suggested that Mr. Shukla never paid Mr. Solanki any money for his help in the business.
Officers said Mr. Shukla has been arrested twice before, once by the Mumbai Anti Narcotics Cell in 2008 and then by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence in 2011, making him a tough customer.
“Mr. Shukla had also known Solanki for at least a year and a half, and seemed to have gleaned information about investigation and interrogation techniques from him. He keeps repeating one story and every time we try to find supporting evidence, like the murder weapon — a hammer — or Solanki’s two cell phones, all he says is that he was drunk at the time of the incident and does not remember anything,” another officer said.
He said Mr. Singh and Mr. Dubey have not provided any useful information as yet, saying that they were called inside only after Solanki was dead. Mr. Shukla had earlier said he gave Solanki’s cell phones to Mr. Dubey to dispose of, and asked Mr. Singh to drive him to Uttar Pradesh as he was too drunk to drive.
“Mr. Dubey first denied having disposed of the cell phones and later claimed he does not remember. On the murder weapon, all Mr. Shukla said is that he vaguely remembers throwing it out of the window,” the officer said.
