Mumbai: Drunk murderer reveals plot; five-year-old accident turns out to be murder

Mumbai: The death of a man was termed as a murder five years after the actual incident. It is being alleged that a village sarpanch had murdered his business partner and had disguised it as an accident. The Mumbai crime branch arrested two people who might have played a significant role in the case. 

A police team was also sent to arrest the sarpanch, the prime accused.

The crime branch also stated that political rivalry might have prompted the accused to murder his business partner. The two men arrested were identified as Amol Padova and Saifuddin Qureshi. While talking to the Indian Express, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Dilip Sawant said that the hit-and-run case took place on January 14, 2014 in Wadala when a tanker allegedly ran over a cyclist, causing his death. 

Following the accident, the police filed a case of causing death due to negligence against unknown persons. The police were unable to track the tanker driver and no development was made in the case. However, a few days ago, the tanker driver, Amol Padova complained that he had not received Rs 30,000 that he had charged for committing a murder in 2014. Padova was in an inebriated state when he shared the information. 

After being informed about what Padova said, the crime branch unit 3 called the former for inquiry. During investigation, the accused confessed that he had run over a cyclist in the year 2014 deliberately. He said that he was promised Rs 40,000 for committing the murder but had only received Rs 10,000. With the help of Padova, the police reached his employer, Saifuddin Qureshi. Qureshi had allegedly asked Padova to run over the deceased. During investigation, Qureshi said that he had been contacted for the murder. After further investigation, Qureshi revealed the name of the prime accused. 

Investigation revealed that though the deceased and the accused were business partners, they were also political rivals in their village situated in Hardoi. The prime accused wanted to be the village sarpanch but had lost the election in 2014. Blaming his failure on the deceased, the accused decided to avenge his defeat. It was then that he contacted Qureshi and asked him to kill the deceased.