Police in Palghar swiftly solved a gruesome headless body murder case, revealing a financial dispute between business partners as the motive behind the crime.
The police solved the mystery surrounding the headless body found stuffed in a plastic sack in Palghar district within eight hours of its discovery and arrested two men for murder, which is prima facie a fallout of a financial dispute between two business partners, officials said Tuesday.
Addressing a press conference, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone-III, Virar) Suhas Bavche stated that the breakthrough came after a meticulous investigation by the Crime Detection Team of the Pelhar police station under the Mira Bhayandar Vasai Virar (MBVV) jurisdiction.
"The investigation began on March 30, around 1 AM, after the headless body of an unidentified man was found dumped in the bushes near Pelhar, Sopara Phata. The body had been stuffed into a plastic sack along with several valuables," Bavche said.
He said the police faced an uphill task of identifying the victim and analysed suspicious vehicle movements in the vicinity.
The deceased has been identified as 32-year-old Ashok Singh Karam Singh Rajput, a native of Pali from Rajasthan.
Police said one of the suspects, and Rajput, were partners in a grocery business. A dispute over financial dealings led the accused to orchestrate the killing.
"The accused, with the help of his accomplice, allegedly bludgeoned Rajput with bamboo sticks and beheaded him with a sharp weapon to prevent identification. They also stabbed Rajput multiple times," an official said.
After dumping the body in Pelhar, the duo allegedly threw the severed head and the victim's mobile phone into a river near Shirsath Phata. Using drone surveillance and forensic experts, the police successfully recovered the head and the phone from the riverbank bushes.
The police have registered a case under Sections 103 (1) (Murder) and 238 (Causing disappearance of evidence) of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS).