Sitting amid the blackened remains of his home, 32-year-old Nikesh Gawali carefully broke open a half-melted plastic box with a screwdriver. His hands shook slightly, not out of fear, but out of hope. “I’m trying to find my daughter Aarti’s gold earrings,” he said quietly, still focused on the box. “She’s just five. I got them made recently after months of labour work.” The plastic box, warped and blackened by heat, was one of the few things left from his two-room house on the outskirts of Dhamangaon village . All around him lay ash, broken tin sheets and charred wooden beams. The walls had cracked under the heat and the front room’s tin roof had caved in completely. What remained was a blackened debris all around - almost nothing to suggest a home once stood there. Nikesh earns his living as an agricultural labourer, like many in the village. Work is uncertain and depends on the season. Those earrings weren’t just jewellery - they were a small dream, a reward for his hard work,...
IN A shocking daylight incident, unidentified goons shot dead Vijay Pandurang Thawkar (36), owner of Thawkar Jewellers, in his shop on mezzanine floor at Shriram Bhavan, Khankhoje Nagar, in Hudkeshwar area on Manewada Road on Saturday. The assailants also attacked Vijay Thawkar’s salesman Prasad Sharadrao Khadekar (20) with a knife, injuring him seriously.
After killing Vijay Thawkar and injuring Prasad, the assailants sped away in a Maruti 800 car. Brother of Vice-President of Nationalist Congress Party’s city unit Raman Thawkar, Vijay was a resident of Bhaldharpura. Vijay, who suffered bullet wounds on head and chest, was dead on the spot while Prasad sustained injuries and was taken to Government Medical College for treatment.
Senior police officers investigating the incident believe that robbery may the motive behind the murder. However, they had no prima facie evidence to rule out the personal enmity angle. Some traders in the area alleged that Vijay had a dispute with some persons over a property deal.
Around 1 pm, Vijay and salesman Prasad were in the shop. Five-six unidentified men came. Some came in a Maruti 800 car (MH-31/B-2081) while others on motorcycles. Two of them, including a tall man sporting white shirt and black goggles, went to Thawkar Jewellers’ shop. One of them started abusing Vijay while the other attacked Prasad with a knife. The one abusing Vijay took out a revolver and pumped bullets into him from point blank range. After killing Vijay and injuring Prasad, the assailants fled in the same car. Some shopkeepers, including Satishchandra Bedi, heard the firing sound. They went to Thawkar Jewellers shop to find Vijay lying in a pool of blood. The shopkeepers rushed Prasad to Government Medical College & Hospital (GMC&H).
The news about Vijay’s murder spread like jungle fire in the area as well as in political circles. Thousands of people gathered in front of Vijay’s shop. Shopkeepers on Manewada Road downed their shutters.
Senior Inspector Wasudeo Wandre, Inspector Mayne, API Vijay Akot and staff of Hudkeshwar Police Station rushed to the spot. Commissioner of Police Dr Ankush Dhanvijay, Joint Commissioner of Police Sanjay Saxena, Additional Commissioner (Region) Shrikant Tarwade, DCP (Immigaration) Ramesh Jadhav, holding additional charge of Zone IV, senior Inspector (Crime Branch) Madhao Giri visited the spot. They summoned fingerprint and ballistic experts.
MLA Dinanath Padole, City unit President of Congress Jaiprakash Gupta, NCP City Unit President Ajay Patil, President of Sarafa Association Kishor Dharashivkar, Secretary Rajkumar Gupta and other prominent citizens also visited the spot.
Senior police officers alerted all police stations and their Nagpur (Rural) counterparts. They also ordered Nakabandi. Soon after the alert, cops started checking vehicles at various points. Police also launched searches in budget hotels, lodges, railway station and bus stands.
A senior police officer told ‘The Hitavada’ that the probe was on and the motive would be confirmed after verifying details. A cellphone with dual SIM of one of the accused persons was found at the spot, he said adding that the SIM cards belonged to Nandkumaribai, a resident of Gurugobind Nagar, Jalna, Marathwada.
The officer said that there was no CCTV camera in the shop. The Maruti car used by the assailants was a stolen one, he added. He informed that the Maruti car (MH-31/B-2081) belonged to Pravin Janardan Chore (35), a resident of Plot No 65, Kusum Society, Manish Nagar. The culprits had stolen the car in the small hours of Friday and Chore had also lodged a complaint about theft of his vehicle at Sonegaon Police Station.
On the basis of the statement given by injured Prasad Khadekar, a resident of Vishwakarma Nagar, Hudkeshwar Police registered a case under Sections 398, 302, 307, 34 of the Indian Penal Code, Sections 4+25 and 27 of the Arms Act read with Section 135 of the Bombay Police Act. Search for the culprits was on.
Vijay leaves behind his brothers Nirmal, Raman and Naresh, wife, son Abhir, daughter Pari and a large number of family members and friends to mourn the loss. His brother Naresh is the owner of Arpan Jewellers’ shop in Sitabuldi.
Comments
Post a Comment