Mumbai Crime: Gang jailed for attempting to kill hotelier

A grab of the video showing mastermind Prakash Pawar hatching the plan. (Right) Hotelier Hritik Krishna Patnayak recuperates in hospital

It had been nine months in the making, a seemingly perfect plan to kidnap a 45-year-old hotelier and kill him in a bid to take over his business. But they made the mistake of leaving him for dead, and their game was up.

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The Dahisar police have arrested four men, who claimed to be members of don-turned-politician Arun Gawli's gang, for kidnapping the bar owner and brutally assaulting him and running away with his valuables.

The victim, however, has said he had been warned of the plan months ago, right after it was made, by one of the accused himself, who had even sent him a video of all of them discussing the crime. The victim added that he had approached senior police officers with the video, seeking protection, but his complaint had gone ignored then.

Lured in a trap
According to the police, on April 9, the arrested accused - Shrikaant Jadhav (45), Sagar Salvi, Shushant Dalvi (25) and Avinash Shinde (30) - and five others, including mastermind Prakash Pawar (45), had called the victim, Hritik Krishna Patnayak alias Sonu (45), who owned a beer bar in Goregaon, to Dahisar, saying they wanted to show him a new place to open another bar there.

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Salvi, who was known to Patnayak, had made the call, convincing him to come and see the place, said the police, adding that he went there with his son. When they reached Dahisar check naka, the accused pushed his son aside and forced Patnayak inside a car and took him to Rishivan area in Borivli (East). In the meanwhile, his son ran to the Dahisar police station and narrated what had happened, after which the police called up on Patnayak's mobile number. Pawar, who had already taken the bar owner's belongings, saw the incoming call and switched the phone off.

The accused then brutally assaulted him with a baseball bat, breaking all his limbs, and fled with his valuables. Patnayak managed to drag himself till the main road, where an autorickshaw driver spotted him and took him to Shatabdi hospital.

Probe revelations
Based on Patnayak's complaint, the Dahisar police filed a case under sections 397 (robbery, or dacoity, with attempt to cause death or grievous hurt), 364 (kidnapping or abducting in order to murder) and 385 (putting person in fear of injury in order to commit extortion) of the Indian Penal Code, and within days arrested four of the accused.

"Both his hands and legs are fractured. He was taken to Shatabdi hospital from where he was shifted to a private hospital, where he is still undergoing treatment," said senior inspector Subhash Sawant, adding that they are on the lookout for the five absconding accused.

Inquiry revealed that Pawar wanted to be Patnayak's business partner. He had introduced himself as a member of a political party and claimed to have connections with Gawli.

After Patnayak said he wasn't interested in partnering with him, Pawar had started threatening him and demanding Rs 50 lakh. He later hatched the plan to get rid of the victim and take over his business completely, said an officer.