Barely a few hours after Ashok Sawant was stabbed near his Kandivli residence, cops identify three assailants, arrest one
Cops outside Sai hospital, where former corporator Ashok Sawant (inset) was brought in after the attack. Pic/ Datta Kumbhar
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Barely a few hours after former Shiv Sena corporator Ashok Sawant was stabbed, around 100 metres away from his house in Kandivli East, the Samata Nagar police have identified the three assailants who attacked him. Police sources confirmed the arrest of one of the attackers, identified as Dahisar resident Suhail Dedhia. A massive manhunt has been launched to nab the other two assailants.
Underworld links
According to police sources, dispute over a Dahisar-based SRA project may have led to Sawant's murder. The cops believe that an underworld gang is involved in the case as Sawant, who entered the cable television business a few years ago, had been received extortion calls for a while.
A senior police officer told mid-day that the accused were identified after an autorickshaw driver came forward with some doubts. "An auto driver approached the Dahisar police about three passengers who had been carrying sharp weapons. He claimed that the three men seemed dangerous, so he cited some mechanical issues to get them to take another vehicle. Immediately after, he approached the cops. Prima facie it appears that the three accused are contract killers. We hope to catch the other two soon."
Three assailants stabbed Sawant to death late last night. While the culprits had managed to flee from the spot and Sawant was rushed to the nearby Sai Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries. Soon after the news spread, over 500 supporters and well-wishers of the former Samata Nagar corporator reached the hospital to pay their respects to the 62-year-old.
The murder
Speaking to mid-day, a police officer said, "Sawant was stabbed around 10.45 pm. Around 1.30 am, we took his body for a postmortem to Bhagwati Hospital. As per preliminary investigations, it appears that three men were waiting in a vehicle outside Sawant's Sur building residence. Sawant was returning home on a bike with one of his relatives, when he was stabbed. At one point, Sawant tried to fight back, but the assailants overpowered him and stabbed him with a chopper over 15 times. He died of excessive blood loss."
Sawant is survived by his wife, two daughters and a son. Incidentally, one of his daughters was slated to get married on February 5.
DCP (Zone 12) Dr Vinay Kumar Rathod confirmed to mid-day that investigations are underway. "We are waiting for the postmortem report. We have registered an FIR against unknown people under IPC Sections 302 and 34 for murder at Samata Nagar police station."
Sawant was a two-time corporator and his brother, Subhash Sawant, is an Assistant Commissioner of Police with the Anti Terrorism Squad.
A Samata Nagar police officer confirmed that they are looking at CCTV footage to identify the assailants.
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