Mumbai Watchman Murder Cracked: Trusted Cook Masterminded 2.5-Year Robbery Plot, Film Director’s Driver Among Five Held

Mumbai: The Juhu police have solved the murder of a 35-year-old watchman, Mohan Yadav, with the arrest of five persons, including a cook employed by a businessman couple in the same residential building and the driver of a renowned Bollywood film director. The accused had allegedly hatched a two-and-a-half-year-old conspiracy to rob and kill the businessman and his family for cash, gold and other valuables.

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Police have identified the accused as Jogeshwar Mallik, 38, the alleged mastermind, Vijay Gonjare, 41, Sharad Yerudkar, 43, his brother Mahadev Yerudkar, 45,, and Aniket Bornak, 30. 

According to the police, Mallik, who had worked as the family's cook for nearly 10 years, allegedly procured duplicate keys to the flat and shared information about cash, foreign currency, diamond and gold ornaments, and gold bricks kept inside. Police said Mallik and Gonjare had been planning the robbery for over two years and avoided speaking over mobile phones for the last six months, instead meeting in person after work to avoid detection.

On the night of August 1, the four accused allegedly befriended Yadav, who was on night duty at the residential building in Vile Parle (West), and partied with him. Police said they spiked his drink with sedatives, but when it failed to incapacitate him, they strangled him, tied his hands behind his back and dumped his body in a water tank before closing the lid. The accused then allegedly attempted to enter the businessman's sixth-floor flat using duplicate keys around 4.30 am on August 2. However, they failed to unlock the door and fled the scene.

Police registered a murder case after Yadav's body was discovered by the relieving watchman the next morning. The police later tracked Gonjare through CCTV footage showing him purchasing operation gloves, which led to the arrest of the remaining accused. Police said the businessman was shocked to learn that his trusted cook had allegedly plotted to rob and kill the family. All five accused have been charged under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code, including murder and criminal conspiracy, and have been remanded to police custody for further interrogation. The investigation is ongoing.

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