Second slaying in city in 2 days: Builder killed at Viratnagar by former associate's Rs 50k hitmen

Ahmedabad: The city, bloodied by a recent murder in Paldi, has been smeared by gore again with the death of a builder, Himmat Rudani , in an apparent contract hit at Viratnagar.

Rudani, 60, was a businessman from Kailashdham in Viratnagar.

He was found dead near Viratnagar flyover on Saturday night. On Sunday, it emerged that his former business partner may have hired killers.

Rudani's body, gutted by a sharp weapon, was discovered inside the trunk of his white Mercedes parked under Viratnagar overbridge in East Ahmedabad. Local residents sensed a foul smell coming from the car and called police.

The investigation has revealed that Rudani's former business partner, Mansukh Lakhani — who has been arrested — hired the killers for Rs 50,000.

This is the second case of murder in the city in two days. On Friday, seven to eight attackers hacked a man to death in a revenge killing, in Paldi.

In Rudani's case, a team of Odhav police reached the scene after receiving reports of stench, removed the body, and sent it for a postmortem examination.

Police have arrested three suspects: Himanshu Rathod from Hirawadi, Pappu Meghwal from Jawal in Rajasthan, and one minor. All were caught near Sirohi in Rajasthan.

The killers murdered Rudani in the basement of Sardar Dham in Nikol on Saturday afternoon, put his body inside the car, and then dumped the car near Viratnagar to mislead police.

Rudani and Lakhani had been locked in disputes over money after their business partnership soured.

In 2024, Rudani's son Dhaval filed a complaint against Lakhani's son for alleged fraud involving forged documents and the alleged withdrawal of funds worth Rs 1.5 crore.

According to a senior police officer, more than 100 CCTV cameras were checked during the investigation. The footage showed the killers leaving the car and escaping on a bike.

The bike owner confirmed that it was given to one Rahul Rathod. Police intercepted the suspects with the help of Rajasthan police teams.

The accused admitted that they knew Rudani and had followed him. They attacked him after he returned to his parked car.

Police said that Rathod previously worked as a security guard at Lakhani's office and was asked to assault Rudani before.