Shootout at Sewri: 29-year-old history-sheeter murdered outside local bar

In a late night shootout on Wednesday, 29-year-old Sushant Godekar alias Bunty was murdered by at least three assailants outside a local bar in Sewri. The incident occurred around 11 pm on Boat Heart Road in Bheemnagar.

Officers from Sewri police station said after shooting Bunty, the killers slashed his chest with a sharp object to ensure that he was dead. A history-sheeter, Bunty was shot twice in the back and once in the stomach at close range. Though the police rushed him to the JJ hospital, doctors declared him dead on arrival. Besides recovering three empty shells and two live rounds, police say the prima facie probe revealed that the victim and the accused were in the same area but in different bars.

Sushant Godekar

Investigation revealed that Bunty, a resident of Byculla, had a few cases registered against him. Though the police are yet to ascertain the motive behind the crime, they suspect personal enmity. They have also zeroed in on Atul, a truck parking protection contractor in the area, whom they suspect of hatching the plot.

"Generally, the area is deserted at night. Being an industrial area, warehouses of several companies are located here where trucks are loaded and unloaded. A few people offer private security service to the companies to protect their parked trucks from thieves, who make away with important engine parts. It is suspected that this could have led to a rivalry between the accused and the victim, resulting in the latter's murder," said a police officer. Another officer claimed that the shooters were present in the nearby Sujata bar, against whom a case has been registered under relevant sections of the IPC and the Arms Act. Also, Crime Branch has initiated a parallel probe in this matter. Vijay Mukane, assistant commissioner of police from Yellow Gate Division, said, "No arrests have been made in this case so far."