Nine held over murder of councillor's husband in Maharashtra’s Raigad district

Mumbai, Dec 27 (PTI) Police in Maharashtra’s Raigad district on Saturday arrested nine persons, including a woman, in connection with the murder of the husband of a newly elected Shiv Sena councillor, officials said.

Mangesh Sadashiv Kalokhe, alias Appa, was chased and hacked to death by a group of men in Khopoli town on Friday. The 45-year-old was returning home after dropping off his daughters at their school when he was targeted in the Vihari area, they said.

The victim was the husband of the newly elected councillor Manasi Kalokhe, who belongs to the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, an official said.

The murder was the fallout of political rivalry between Kalokhe and his opponent, who lost the recent local body elections.

During their investigation, the Raigad police apprehended the main accused Ravindra Deokar, Darshan Deokar and six others from the Nagothane area, he said.

Amid the search for the remaining persons involved in the killing, the Khopoli police arrested one more accused in the case, the official said.

“So far, police have arrested nine accused persons in connection with Kalokhe’s murder. Our investigation is continuing,” a senior police official said.

Citing the ongoing probe, the official said Darshan Ravindra Deokar, along with Sachin Chavan and three others, allegedly chased Kalokhe and attacked him with swords, sickles and an axe, killing him at the scene.

After the crime, they fled from the spot and switched off their mobile phones.

Considering the seriousness of the crime, police formed five teams to crack the case, the official said. During the investigation, the involvement of more persons came to the fore, he said.

With the help of technical analysis and human intelligence, police have arrested nine accused persons, he said.

The arrested individuals have been identified as Ravindra Parshuram Deokar, Darshan Ravindra Deokar, Dhanesh Ravindra Deokar, Urmila Ravindra Deokar, Vishal Deshmukh, Raju More, Sachin Kharade, Mahesh Dhaytadak and Dilip Pawar, he said.

A search is underway for more persons for their alleged role in the crime, he added. PTI DC NR