Mumbai: The main suspect in the shooting incident in Antop Hill was apprehended by Mumbai Crime Branch's Unit 4 in Dombivali. According to a police official, the suspect, Vivek Chettiar (26), allegedly retaliated by firing after his wife was reportedly abused by the victim. DCP Datta Nalawade told that during interrogation, Chettiar told that he had planned to kill two more people.
After the firing incident, Chettiar fled from there and went to his house in Andheri. Later, he went to Goregaon and stayed there until evening. To evade the police, Chettiar left there and went to the Thane, where he stayed for a while.
From Thane he went to Panvel and after staying there for some time, he went to Dombivli. When the Crime Branch officers received information about Chettiar's presence in Dombivli, the police arrested him by laying a trap in Kolgaon, Dombivli.
Crime Branch DCP Datta Nalawade disclosed that history-sheeter Vivek Chettiar abruptly entered the home of Akash Kadam (30) at 5:40 am on Saturday and shot him with a country-made pistol, causing serious injuries. Kadam had given Chettiar 7 lakh rupees to carry out a 'task', but when Chettiar failed to fulfill it, Kadam demanded his money back.
Despite Kadam repeatedly asking for the money, when Chettiar didn't return it, Kadam got into a heated argument with Chettiar's wife over the issue. This altercation between the two escalated over the verbal exchange regarding Chettiar's wife, leading to the confrontation.
Chettiar fired one shot at Kadam but when he tried to fire further shots, his pistol got locked. Kadam has been admitted in an injured condition to Sion Hospital where he is undergoing treatment.
The crime branch is going to hand over the accused Vivek Chattiar to the Antop Hill police for further investigation. The case is being investigated by the Antop Hill police who arrested Chettiar's wife Parveen and his close friend Parag Gohil on charges of criminal conspiracy on Sunday, a day after the incident.
In 2017, the accused Vivek Devaraj Chettiar murdered Mayur Panchal outside a hookah parlour in the Goregaon area. Chettiar was arrested for this crime. However, he was released on parole during the COVID period, but did not return to jail after the parole. After being released on parole, Chettiar committed 6 more crimes. This makes a total of 12 serious crimes. A total of 12 non-bailable warrants have also been issued against him.
