Cops link Khed double murder to criminal's killing in May

Pune: The double murder on Khapardara hill at Shiroli in Khed taluka on Friday was fallout of a criminal’s killing at Chikhali two months ago, revealed the police investigation.

Three people were arrested on Sunday on the suspicion that they aided the duo’s killers and the police launched a search for six other suspects.

The police said the victims — Niranjan Gurav (20) and Bajrang Jadhav (22) from Pimple Gurav — were hacked to death as the killers suspected them of helping those involved in the murder of Aniket Randive, a criminal on police records, at Chikhali on May 29.

Acting on a tip-off, a Khed police team led by assistant inspector Rahul Lad arrested the trio from Shiroli, about 45km from the city. “Abhishek Bhalerao, Hrishikesh Wadekar and Nikhil Shinde had taken Gurav and Jadhav to the hill on Friday, where they were killed,” Lad said.

“They were produced before a court and remanded in police custody till August 16,” Lad said.

The bodies of the two victims were found on the hillock on Saturday morning. The breakthrough came the same day when the Khed police arrested one Manoj Lokhande for an offence under the Indian Arms Act. Lokhande told the police that he had shifted to Khed from Pune with his two associates. “When we showed him the photographs of the bodies, Lokhande identified the deceased duo as Gurav and Jadhav,” Lad said.

He said Lokhande told the police that they had gone to Shiroli on August 6 after a brawl in Pimpri Chinchwad.