Palghar murder accused nabbed from ship in Gujarat

Palghar, Oct 5 (PTI) A man accused of killing a co-worker at a company in Maharashtra's Palghar district has been apprehended from a ship at Okha Port in Gujarat, police said on Sunday.

The incident took place on September 7 in Vasai area here.

The accused, identified as Sunil Kharpat Prajapati (35), and the victim, Dilip Saroj, were employed at a private company located in Vasai (East) under Naigaon police station area, senior police inspector Vijay Kadam said.

The company owner had transferred meal expense funds to the account of Prajapati which were meant to be shared by him and Saroj, he said.

"Instead of sharing the funds, the accused withheld the amount, which led to a heated dispute between him and the victim," Kadam said.

During the quarrel, Prajapati allegedly attacked Saroj with a sharp weapon, inflicting serious injuries on his head, eyes and hand, and then absconded, the official said.

A case was initially registered against Prajapati at Naigaon Police Station under sections for voluntarily causing hurt and other charges.

The victim later succumbed to his injuries during treatment, following which the charge of murder was invoked against the accused, the official said.

After a technical analysis and intelligence gathering, the police learned that the accused had been hiding aboard a ship docked at Okha Port, Dwarka, in Gujarat, he said.

The Naigaon crime detection branch officers then carried out a massive search operation, inspecting more than 200 ships in and around the port area before locating the accused at a vessel docked there, the official said.

He was taken into custody on October 2 and subsequently brought to Palghar, the police said.

The accused, originally from Uttar Pradesh, had been residing in the Vasai area here, they added. PTI COR GK