Rajkot: Two youngsters, including a 16-year-old boy, from MP were burnt alive after two men allegedly set fire to a Trax Toofan multi-utility vehicle (MUV) in which they were sleeping on the outskirts of Gundaran village in Liliya taluka of Amreli district shortly after midnight on Tuesday.Police arrested two persons, including the main accused, in connection with the double murder, which is suspected to have stemmed from a financial dispute over the purchase of the vehicle.The deceased were identified as Ravi Badhel (16) and Nitin Pachaya (21), who worked as farm labourers in Gundaran. Police recovered their charred bodies from the vehicle.According to police, the two victims were sleeping inside the vehicle parked at a farm when the accused allegedly arrived during the night, poured petrol inside and outside the vehicle and set it ablaze. Trapped inside, the two occupants were burnt alive.After learning about the incident, family members, including Ravi’s father, Kamlesh Badhel, rushed to the spot and tried to douse the flames. However, by the time they reached the vehicle, both occupants had died.Liliya police, accompanied by forensic experts, subsequently reached the scene. Within hours, they detained Vinod Dodiyar and his relative, Raju Dodiyar, in connection with the crime.In-charge DSP of the Savarkundla division, Vismay Manseta, said the murder was allegedly committed over a dispute involving the purchase of the vehicle and an outstanding payment of Rs 30,000.Vinod had bought the passenger vehicle from a man named Riteshsinh on instalments. Although he had paid part of the amount, Rs 30,000 remained outstanding. After the payment dispute, Riteshsinh handed over possession of the vehicle to his friend Kamlesh Badhel.Vinod got furious that the vehicle was being kept in Kamlesh’s possession. He approached Riteshsinh demanding possession of the vehicle or a refund of the money he had paid. Riteshsinh refused both demands.Police suspect the dispute prompted Vinod to target the vehicle, apparently without regard to whether anyone was sleeping inside it.“As part of the plan, the accused first filled petrol in their motorcycle at a fuel station some distance from the crime scene. They stopped near the farm, took out petrol from the motorcycle’s tank in four or five small cans and sprinkled it inside and outside the Trax Toofan vehicle before setting it on fire,” police said.Ravi’s father, Kamlesh, told mediapersons that his son and Nitin, who was his sister’s brother-in-law, were sleeping inside the vehicle when the incident occurred. He said the vehicle had was in their possession because Riteshsinh owed them money. Police are investigating if the accused knew that the two men were sleeping inside the vehicle when they set it ablaze.
