The Thane Police Crime Branch on Friday arrested a person who had allegedly participated in a gang-related murder in Diva in 1990.
According to the Thane police, Balaram Mhatre, a local gangster, was shot dead in his house on March 16, 1990. Mhatre was allegedly shot while he was sleeping, by his own bodyguard, who was known as Vijaysingh, along with another accomplice, the police said.
Following the murder, the police had picked up three suspects based on suspicion expressed by Mhatre’s family, but they were released due to lack of evidence as Vijaysingh himself could not be found.
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Further investigations at the time had indicated that Mhatre’s murder was revenge killing, as he had allegedly murdered one of his rivals, Ramchandra Bhagat, in Mumbra in 1983. Mhatre’s murder was believed to have been in retribution by Bhagat’s gang.
In November this year, the Thane Police Crime Branch received information that a suspect who was believed to be behind several robberies in the Thane city was the same Vijaysingh who was wanted for Mhatre’s murder. Working further on the tip off, the Thane Crime Branch sent a team to Uttar Pradesh for further inquiries.
“We found out that Vijaysingh’s real name is Anil Chaube, and that he has also served as the sarpanch of his native village. We made further inquiries and picked him up from his native village in Varansi, and brought him to Thane. He confessed to having killed Mhatre and was subsequently placed under arrest on Friday,” said an officer with the Thane Police Crime Branch.
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The officer said Chaube has revealed the identity of the accomplice who assisted him in the murder, and that three teams of policemen are currently in UP, trying to trace and apprehend the accomplice. Meanwhile, Chaube was produced in court on Friday and has been remanded to police custody till January 4 next year said officials.