Pune: Two cousins were arrested on Sunday from Junnar taluka on the charge of bludgeoning a 20-year-old youth to death on August 2 and dumping his body into a gorge at Phalode village in Ambegaon taluka, about 110 km from the city, The Pune Rural police said the crime was the fallout of a land dispute . The murder came to light during the investigation of the missing person’s complaint lodged by the father of the victim, Nikhil Gholap, on Aug 7 with the Otur police. A police team led by assistant inspector Lahu Thate arrested the suspects, Abhishek Gholap (21) and Jitendra Gholap (31), both of Watkhale village in Junnar taluka.
They have been charged under sections 103 (murder), 61 (criminal conspiracy) and 238 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). A team of Ghodegaon police traced Nikhil’s highly decomposed body on August 15. As no one came forward to claim it, the police had cremated the body.
“Nikhil’s relatives ascertained the identity of the body with the help of photographs and clothes,” investigating officer Nadeem Tadvi of the Otur police said. He said Nikhil’s father came to the police station on August 7 and informed the officers that his son had not returned home since August 1 and his cellphone number was not reachable. “The suspects followed up the case with the police.
They even visited local politicians and requested the latter to pressurise the police to intensify searches for Nikhil,” Tadvi said. He said the police found during the investigations that Nikhil, the victim, and the duo had talked several times over the cellphone. Their location was traced to Junnar.
“We then took the duo into custody for questioning. Initially, they denied knowing anything about the victim. During the sustained questioning, the duo spilled the beans and admitted to have killed Nikhil,” Tadvi said.
Plot of murder Tadvi, the investigation officer, said the victim’s family had an old land dispute with the suspects’ family. The arrested duo claimed that the victim, Nikhil, used to harass and abuse them for the past few months. Frustrated by the harassment, they allegedly hatched the plot to eliminate Nikhil, Tadvi said.
He said Nikhil stayed alone in his house at Vatkhale as his parents had shifted to Rajgurunagar for work. “On the night of August 1, the duo picked up Nikhil from the Junnar bus stand under the pretext of visiting Bhimashankar temple. On the way, they purchased liquor for Nikhil,” Tadvi said.
He said after reaching Phalode in Ambegaon taluka, the suspects forced Nikhil to consume liquor. They took an inebriated Nikhil near a hillock. When the latter realised that they were not going towards Bhimashankar, he started abusing them.
“The duo then bludgeoned him with a big stone and dumped the body into the nearby gorge. They also threw Nikhil’s cellphone into the Kukadi river,” Tadvi said..
