Ex-cop arrested for Navi Mumbai builder murder
The second shooter and a former encounter specialist have been arrested by the Navi Mumbai police on Sunday in the daylight killing of 50-year-old builder Sunil Kumar Lohiya.
A.K. Sharma, commissioner of police, Navi Mumbai said the mastermind of the crime is a retired police inspector Emmanuel Amolik who was picked up from his Navi Mumbai residence. Mr Sharma added that the motive is not clear and investigations were still underway.
On Saturday, Lohiya was shot in front of his office in Navi Mumbai.
The locals had nabbed one of the shooters Venkatesh Shettiar from the crime spot. Amolik’s name cropped up while interrogating Shettiar. The second shooter identified as Wajid Qureshi has been traced and arrested. Qureshi is a resident of Mumbra and Shettiar spilled the beans on him as well.
According to an official from the Vashi police who are investigating the case, Amolik retired from service in 2011 and was presently employed as a director in a private company at JNPT.
Even as the police are in the process of ascertaining the possible motives behind the killing, they have learnt that Amolik and Lohiya had gotten into a verbal duel a month ago.
Additional commissioner, Fatehsingh Patil said that Amolik was almost run over by Lohiya’s car. This had led to a heated argument between the duo and Lohiya had pulled out his revolver and threatened to kill Amolik.
Police sources also added that Shettiar during his interrogation has been changing his statements on the motive behind the murder.
In his first statement, Shettiar claimed that Lohiya had cheated a builder of a hefty sum who then hired them for the killing. While Shettiar has been remanded to police custody till February 22, Amolik and Qureshi will be produced in a court on Monday.
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