The kin and neighbours of the two arrested accused in the Mansukh Hiran case recall their behaviour and how it has affected their lives
Santosh Shelar’s house at Kurar was locked. Pic/Anurag Ahire
Two arrested accused, Santosh Shelar and Anand Jadhav, revealed the murder angle in the Mansukh Hiran case, and informed the police about former Assistant Police Inspector Sachin Waze’s involvement in it. The police said they worked as informers for encounter specialist Pradeep Sharma. mid-day visited the residence of one of the accused, and the relative of the other accused at Kurar Village at Malad, and found their kin and neighbours fed up of their activities.
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Shelar is a resident of Chaganbhai Patel Chawl at Kurar village in Malad West, and Jadhav’s nephew is a resident of Munnabhai Jethva Chawl at Kurar village in Malad East. The accused were recently produced in court and remanded in NIA custody till June 11.
‘He should be punished’
Speaking to mid-day, Jadhav’s nephew Pritesh Jadhav said, “My uncle spoilt our family. In the locality nobody talks to us and they call us criminals. He used to threaten everyone in the chawl. He was famous as Antya bhai here. After my father's death my uncle left home and never returned. We also broke all relations with him.
But an NIA team dragged me for questioning on my marriage day. Regularly, the police, NIA and other agencies come home and I keep telling them that my uncle Anand does not stay with us. He stays somewhere else in Malad with his wife and their son and daughter. We are in big trouble and our reputation is almost finished after this.”
“My uncle is a criminal and he should be punished for his crimes. We only know that he worked with encounter specialist Pradeep Sharma,” he added.
Nobody was present at Shelar’s house and the door was locked. A neighbour said, “Ye criminal family hai. Ghar pe sab mahengi chize milengi aapko in logon ke paas.” (This is a criminal family. You will find their belongings in the house are very expensive).
Another neighbour said, “Nobody talks to them in our chawl, as they are criminals and involved in illegal activities. In the past 10 years we never visited their house or spoke to them. We found few years back that Shelar was working for encounter specialist Pradeep Sharma. We were also shocked to learn that a criminal was working for the police. The family, including his wife and daughter, used to threatened people in the area.”
‘Were part of Shetty gang’
A police source said, "Santosh Shelar and Anand Jadhav earlier allegedly worked for the Shetty gang at Jogeshwari which was connected to the underworld. Both were involved in extortion, murders, and many other cases. The Shetty gang had around 40 members and they used to threaten Chhota Rajan gang members. There were many clashes between the gangs. But after many arrests, the Shetty gang was finished. Then Shelar and Jadhav started working for encounter specialist Pradeep Sharma as informers, but kept indulging in illegal activities.”
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