Mumbai: The Bhiwandi police has invoked charges under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) against the 19 accused who were allegedly involved in the murder of a local Congress corporator Manoj Mhatre on February 16. The police has so far arrested seven persons who were involved in the attack on Mhatre using a firearm and long knives but is yet nab the key accused, who is the deceased’s cousin. Prashant (32) the cousin, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) member, allegedly planned and led the attack due to personal rivalry with Mhatre.
DCP Manoj Patil told The Asian Age, “We have added MCOCA against the 19 accused. Only seven accused were there during the murder but other accused have helped them in planning and supplying weapons.” “As per our investigation more accused are going to be added in the case and we will soon arrest them. Our team is behind the main accused Prashant Mhatre and soon we will arrest him too,” he said.
In order to invoke MCOCA provisions, at least one of the arrested accused must have been earlier named in two chargesheets. Three of the arrested accused were earlier chargesheeted in at least two cases. Thane police officials have submitted details of the two earlier chargesheets against accused Vidyesh Patil, Shankar alias Bumbum Virendra Narayan Jha, Ganesh Patil and one against Vishwpal Patil.
Among the seven accused arrested in the case is Mhatre’s bodyguard, Jignesh Patel, who allegedly colluded with his employer’s killers. He had supplied precise information to Mhatre’s killers about his movements on the day of the murder. The police however is still looking for Prashant who is suspected to have targeted Mhatre since he felt the deceased had not given him a chance to contest civic elections on Congress’ ticket. Prashant held a grudge against Mhatre as it was his father, a former corporator, who had given the deceased the chance to contest on his seat after retirement.
A police officer told The Asian Age, “These four accused have their own gang. Against these four accused six cases are registered in different police stations of Thane, including two half murder cases.” The case investigators said the four accused were travelling all over Maharashtra in a bid to evade their arrest and went to Goa, after which they came back to Vajreshwari to hide when the police nabbed them.
Mhatre (53) was killed by a group of seven men, who shot at him with a 12-bore gun and then hacked him with a knife on February 16 near his residence. During investigation, the police found that Mhatre’s cousin, Prashant, had allegedly led the attack and brought six others in a car and a bike.
