A 13-year-old boy was strangled to death, allegedly for spitting outside the house of his neighbour in Diva. The neighbour, reportedly a relative of the boy, scolded the boy for his act and an argument ensued between them. In rage, he allegedly lured the boy from home and killed him, police said. He has been arrested by the Mumbra police. The accused was presented in court, which remanded him in police custody till April 25, 2022.
The house of the accused, Dashrath Kakade, 28, was next to that of the victim Rupesh Vijay Gole, 13, in Nagwadi, Diva. Investigation has revealed that on April 17, Kakade had scolded Rupesh after he saw the boy spit in front of his house and the boy had argued with him. Fuming at the incident, Kakade reportedly sought revenge, the police said. He lured Rupesh with an offer to take him to a fair but, instead, took the boy to the first floor of a public toilet in Mumbra and strangled him.
Kakade then told Rupesh’s family that at the fair, he had given the teen Rs 50 and left and had no idea about his whereabouts, after which the family filed a missing complaint.
Assistant Police Inspector S K Shelke from Mumbra police station, who is investigating the case, said, “Rupesh Gole went with Dashrath Kakade to get clothes but he never came back. When Rupesh did not return home, his elder brother called Kakade and asked about Rupesh. Kakade replied that he had given Rupesh Rs 50 and left at the fair. Rupesh’s elder brother registered a missing case at Mumbra police station.”
Shelke further added, “When we were investigating the case, we were suspicious about Dashrath’s involvement in the crime. We questioned Kakade on where exactly he had gone to buy clothes for Rupesh and at which fair he had left him. Kakade said that he went to a street vendor to buy clothes but when we approached the cloth seller, he said that no one had come to buy clothes from him. Suspecting Kakade, we arrested him and started interrogating him. It was only then that the matter of Rupesh Gole’s murder came to light.
“Kakade, who was a distant relative of the boy informed us that he murdered the victim by strangling him on the afternoon of April 17. The two had an argument over Rupesh spitting outside Dasharath’s home. In a fit of rage, the accused killed Rupesh,” Shelke said.
