Pune: A 39-year-old worker at a water-filter plant in Karegaon in Shirur taluka was shot dead on Sept 29 after two assailants mistook him for the plant owner, whom they had been hired to kill.Pune Rural police have arrested five people in connection with the murder, including a neighbour of the plant owner who allegedly hired the killers. The plant owner and his neighbour had a dispute over a land parcel.Hamja Shaikh of Parbhani, a worker at a water-filter plant in Karegaon, about 55 km from Pune, was shot at point-blank range by two men on a motorcycle around 6.15 am on Sept 29. Shaikh, who was staying near the plant, had gone there to switch on the pump.Initially, Supa police registered a case of accidental death. However, after examining the body, the police found two wounds to his head — one entry wound and one exit wound — indicating that he had been shot. “Our team also found an empty cartridge at the spot, which confirmed that Shaikh was shot dead. We registered a case of murder and formed eight teams to investigate the case,” Pune Rural superintendent of police Sandeep Singh Gill said.The SP said the police checked CCTV footage and found that the two assailants had reached the plant on a motorcycle without a registration number plate. They were also wearing masks. “We also found that the accused had carried out a recce of the spot a few days ago,” Gill said.With the help of technical investigation, the police traced a criminal on their records, Santosh Manjare (37), to Sonbhadra district in Uttar Pradesh. With the help of the local police, the team nabbed Manjare and brought him to Pune.During sustained questioning, Manjare revealed the name of another accused, Tushar Todkar (26) of Ambegaon in Khed taluka, who had hired him to eliminate the water-filter plant owner. Manjare had arranged the assailants, who mistook Shaikh for the plant owner and shot him dead. “The assailants were provided with a photograph of the plant owner. But the plant owner and the victim had similar body structures. Moreover, when Shaikh was at the shop, his back was towards the road. The assailants approached him, shot him in the head at point-blank range and drove away,” Gill said.The officer said Todkar then revealed the name of Sarthan Kohakade (24) of Karegaon in Shirur taluka, who had hired him to eliminate the plant owner. Kohakade had a dispute with the plant owner over a piece of land. “We have also arrested Manjare’s two accomplices, Viththal Pikale (27) of Karegaon and Yogesh Adole (28) of Washim district,” Gill said, adding, “We have ascertained the identities of the two assailants. We will arrest them soon.”Gill said the investigation also revealed that Kohakade had promised Todkar Rs 2 lakh in advance and the remaining Rs 3 lakh after the murder was executed. “We are investigating how much money Todkar had promised Manjare,” Gill said.
