Mumbai Crime: Ex-worker held for killing Borivli man to start shop

The trio was picked up from near the Karnataka and Tamil Nadu border and brought to Mumbai on Thursday

Almost after a week's investigation into the murder of a 70-year-old man, who used to run a snacks stall in Borivli, the local police managed to arrest three accused on Thursday. Of the three, one was an ex-employee of the deceased. They were traced to an area close to the border of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and brought back to Mumbai the same day. Police sources said that though the intention behind the murder was robbery, the trio could not lay their hands on a lot of cash, as the victim had been depositing most of his earnings in his bank account since demonetisation.

Also Read: Thane cops solve 12-year-old murder, arrest senior citizen

According to the police, the arrested accused have been identified as Mahesh Gauda, 28, Anilkumar Gauda, 27, and Kirankumar Gauda, 27. The mastermind, Mahesh, worked at deceased Vaman Joshi's snacks stall for seven years, and then he left to start his own Frankie shop in Bangalore. However, he suffered huge loses in the business due to his betting and drinking habits. As he was planning to start a new shop, he hatched a plan with two of his accomplices to loot Joshi.

Also Read: Mumbai Crime: 35-year-old man on run after killing wife, arrested in Ghaziabad

Deceased Vaman Joshi

Cash kept at home

Police further said that when he was working at the deceased's shop, he had observed that Joshi kept his daily earnings at his house. Thinking of getting a huge amount of cash from his flat, Mahesh roped in Anil and Kiran to carry out the theft.

On the day of the incident, they reached Mumbai separately and met at the Sanjay Gandhi National Park in Borivli East. Then they switched off their mobiles and reached Joshi's house with a box of sweets for him.

During investigation it was revealed that the deceased knew the accused from before. When the cops started enquiring about Joshi's ex-employees, they could not trace two people, of whom one was Mahesh. That is when the police got in touch with one of the present employees and took Mahesh's number from him. However, his phone was switched off. On tracing his number, the cops found his location in Mandiya district of Karnataka. A team was then sent and the trio was arrested.

Rs 10,000 looted

Speaking to mid-day, DCP Sangramsingh Nishandar from Zone XI, said, "Earlier, Joshi used to keep his daily earnings from the shop in his house. However, since demonetisation he started depositing the cash in his bank account. Mahesh hoped to loot him of a lot of cash so that he could start a new Frankie shop in Bangalore. The accused revealed that they took R10,000 from his house."

The incident

Vaman Joshi, who resided in Jamuni Galli, Borivli West, with his 32-year-old son, was found murdered in his flat last week. Initially, the Borivli police had registered an accidental death report, but later they registered a murder case against unknown accused. Joshi used to run the snacks stall in the locality with his son. He used to visit the shop daily, but on the day of the incident when he did not turn up, his son rushed back home and found his father murdered.

Also Read: Mumbai Crime: Senior citizen murdered in Borivli flat

Catch up on all the latest Mumbai news, crime news, current affairs, and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates