The Navi Mumbai police have launched a hunt for the two assailants who murdered a builder in Nerul on Wednesday evening. The police have formed multiple teams including one team that has already been sent to Kutch in Gujarat for investigation.
The deceased builder hailed from Kutch and he used to visit there frequently.
Tanaji Bhagat, senior police inspector confirmed that the two assailants who shot the builder have not been arrested so far.
How the crime took place
The deceased builder identified as Savji Manjeri (Patel) was murdered when he was either getting down or stepping inside his car in sector 6 in Nerul around 4.45 pm on Wednesday.
A senior police official said that two suspected bike-borne assailants seem to be professional shooters as all the bullets hit the deceased without missing. A total of three shells of bullets were found at the incident site.
Police going through CCTV footage
Meanwhile, the police collected CCTV footage of the nearby areas of the incident site. “There were no CCTV cameras where Manjeri was shot dead. However, we managed to get CCTV footage of surrounding areas of the two suspected bike-borne assailants,” said the police official. Since the assailants were wearing helmets, their faces could not be recognised.
The 54-year-old builder of Emperia Group, Navi Mumbai hailed from the Kutch region of Gujarat and he has his home and office in Belapur. According to police, he used to spend more time in Kutch and used to visit Navi Mumbai. he was one of the partners of Emperia Group. “There might be some property-related issues,” said the official.
Real estate is the primary business of Navi Mumbai as a number of new areas are developing. A large number of construction activities are underway. However, for the last few years, there have been no such incidents. Manohar Shroff, senior vice president of MCHI Credai Navi Mumbai said that such an incident will impact the business of the city.
In the past, incidents happened in the city. A few major incidents are:
1. SK Builder was murdered in front of his office in Vashi in 2013
2. Pravin Tayde, a construction material supplier from Ghansoli was murdered in 2020
3. Late corporator Sanjay Patil from Ghansoli was attacked in 2013.
4. Vijay Gajra of Bhoomi Builder was threatened in 2011
