Unit two of Crime Branch of Navi Mumbai solved an 8-year-old murder of a Mathadi (head loader) worker, committed in Turbhe. The accused was his friend and he murdered to take away Rs 25,000 cash, which the deceased had won in gambling.
Interestingly, the police had submitted “A” Summary report twice to close the investigation as detection could not be done.
On December 29, the police found the body of Ananda Baburao Sukale, 55, at a vacant land proposed for a bus depot in sector 20 in Turbhe. A case of murder under section 302 of IPC against unknown persons was registered at the APMC police station.
Despite efforts, the police could not detect the case and it filed a closure report on August 17, 2013. However, the murder instilled fear among residents in the area. In 2016, the case was reopened and again the police filed a closure report in 2017.
Recently, Rupesh Patil, a police constable of crime branch unit two received a tip-off regarding the murder accused. Based on the information, police took custody of the accused identified as Dashrath Vitthal Kamble and interrogated him. Kamble admitted to having murder Sukale for money. Kamble is a daily wage labourer and resides in Turbhe. Police said that several cases of theft and burglary were registered against him.
According to police, Kamble was knowing that Sukale had won Rs25000 in gambling and around 2.30 pm afternoon of December 27, he hit him with wood in a parking area in sector 20 in Turbhe.
“When Sukale fell, he strangulated him with Sukale’s towel,” said a senior police official. He added that Kamble kept the body along the wall, and covered it with grass then.
“On December 29 early morning around 4 am, he packed the body in a bag and dumped in a nearby vacant plot at sector 20,” added the official.
