Main accused in Kalwa man's murder on the run

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The Thane police have cracked the murder case of Kalwa resident Sambhaji Pandurang Dhaneshwar, 54, and arrested one suspect, while the main accused is still on the run. The Kalwa police had earlier registered an accidental death report, which was later changed to a murder case after getting clues from witnesses and CCTV footage about two men who had assaulted Dhaneshwar.

According to the police, Dhaneshwar used to reside in Vishwakarma Nagar near Belapur road in Kalwa. He went out for a stroll near his house on the night of July 22. Around 7 am the next day, a neighbour informed Dhaneshwar's family that he was lying on a road, with injuries to his head, shoulder and legs. He succumbed to his injuries at KEM hospital at 5.30 pm the same day.

Witnesses and CCTV
"Accordingly, the Bhoiwada police in Mumbai registered an accidental death report (ADR) and transferred it to the Kalwa police on July 23," said a police officer.

"Local witnesses and neighbours who were being interrogated in the case claimed that some people assaulted Dhaneshwar with a stone and fled from the spot. A few days ago, we collected CCTV footage of a camera outside the office of Samir Patil, a local cable operator. The footage clearly showed two people assaulting him with a stone," said an officer.

From the footage, the police identified the two accused as Rahul Kadam and Kunal Wagh. "Kadam has been arrested by the Chembur police in a robbery case," said PJ Pawar, assistant police inspector, Kalwa police station. Another officer said, "They were known to each other and there is no robbery angle. The investigation is on."