Mumbai: Gambling, sex addiction led cops to killer driver

The killers in police custody. Pics/Hanif Patel

Gambling and sex addiction of a driver, who was holed-up in Nepal after killing and looting Ramchand Kakrani, 75, the owner of a Virar-based petrol pump in connivance with his two accomplices last month, helped crime branch sleuths of Mira Bhayandar Vasai Virar (MBVV) police strategise their investigative paths. Above all, the killer's call from Nepal to his regular sex worker Archana in Malad confirmed the investigators' suspicions and guided their strategy.

The three killers had looted an expensive wristwatch, a diamond-studded gold ring and Rs 50,000 cash from the petrol pump owner. Since the cash was running out fast in Nepal, the trio had been desperately trying to sell expensive items to meet their gambling and sex addiction demands.

Nearly 36 officials from Crime Branch Unit 2 and the Central Crime Branch of MBVV police worked for 18 days to arrest the 58-year-old driver Mukesh Khubchandani and his accomplice Anil Rajkumar, 32. Ramlal Yadav is still on the run. Crime Branch Unit 2 in charge, Inspector Sahuraj Ranaware said, "Initially they had planned to kill Kakrani elsewhere but changed their plan and killed him at 5.39 pm on August 25."

(From left) Killer driver Mukesh Khubchandani; petrol pump owner Ramchand Kakrani, 75

Central Crime Branch in-charge, Inspector Rahul Rakh said, "Kakrani left his petrol pump in the evening and dozed off in his car on the way to his home in Ulhasnagar. He was seated next to the driver Khubchandani. When the car reached Bhiwandi Road, Khubchandani stopped the car and Anil and Ramlal sat on the rear seat."

According to another crime branch officer, when Kakrani asked the strangers who they were, Anil replied saying they would get off at Bhiwandi. "Kakrani asked them to get off immediately. During the heated discussion, Ramlal told Kakrani to hand over his wristwatch and ring, worth over Rs 15 lakh. Kakrani got furious and slapped him."

"Anil who was seated behind Kakrani, took off his handkerchief and started strangling him. Ensuring he is killed, Anil and Ramlal decamped with Kakrani's watch and ring," said the officer. They switched off Kakrani's mobile phone and threw it at the spot where he was killed to show Khubchandani and Kakrani's location the same. The driver also disposed of his mobile phone at the same spot. "This was to misguide the investigating team and fend off any suspicious towards Khubchandani," said a crime branch official.

Stolen items and cash recovered

After killing Kakrani, Khubchandani drove the car with the body to the Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway, parked it at a secluded place and left. Changing multiple vehicles, the trio got together, had dinner at a hotel and boarded a public transport bus to the Gujarat border. "They crossed the border on foot fearing they might get arrested if the murder news had spread," the officer said, adding that they changed vehicles and travelled through Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh to reach Nepal on August 28.

"Anil has dual citizenship (Nepal and India). Ramlal is also from Nepal, while Khubchandani is from Ulhasnagar. He is addicted to gambling and Nepal, having a weaker currency than India, was like heaven to him. The trio was hiding in Butwal city and had been changing hotels. They used the cash looted from Kakrani for liquor, gambling and sex," the officer said.

After Kakrani's body was found the day following his murder, the police began searching for his driver. Inspector Ranaware's team studied call data records (CDR) of Khubchandani. "We came across the number of a woman who turned out to be a sex worker (Archana) based in Malad," said a crime branch officer.

Using Archana's CDRs the officers discovered that she had received a call from Nepal and spoke for over an hour. When the cops contacted Archana, they learnt that Khubchandani had called her using the mobile phone of a sex worker in Nepal. Archana informed the police that Khubchandani was a "sex maniac who cannot spend a night without a woman"

"During our legwork in Nepal, we learnt that they were struggling to sell off the watch and ring. They had also left their mobile number to a hotel's reception to inform them if anyone wanted to buy these items. Impersonating a buyer, we contacted Anil and convinced them to cross the Indo-Nepal border. The moment Anil and Khubchandani came to Gorakhpur, we nabbed them with the help of local police officials in Uttar Pradesh," said the officer. "We have recovered the watch and ring from their possession, along with some cash."