Mumbai: Late DCP’s son killed, elderly wife abducted for property

A shocking case of a property dispute has emerged in Mumbai, in which the 44-year-old son and wife of a former deputy commissioner (DCP) were abducted, and the son was murdered at the behest of a relative.

The body of former DCP late Vasant Kamble's son, Vishal, is still missing, but police have managed to rescue his elderly wife, Rohini (80), from a house in Goregaon's Aarey colony on May 3.

According to DCP (zone VI) Hemraj Rajput, Vishal and his mother Rohini, who were residing in Kolhapur, frequently came to Mumbai in connection with some legal process linked to a bungalow in Kamble's name. In March this year, the mother-son duo came to Mumbai and stayed at Hotel Neelkamal in Chembur.

On April 5, they went to a villa in Panvel to meet a "property dealer" carrying documents of a five-acre plot and a bungalow in Kolhapur. The property dealer sent one of his workers to pick them up. Once Vishal and his elderly mother reached Panvel, some men overpowered them and forced them to sell the Kolhapur property.

When the 44-year-old refused to do so, they allegedly killed him and disposed of his body on the Vadodara-Ahmedabad highway.

The goons took Vishal's mother Rohini to Rajasthan, where they kept her for some days. Later, they brought the 80-year-old woman to Mumbai and kept her in an apartment in Aarey Colony. Police stated that the elderly woman was drugged while they prepared the documents of the property.

The incident came to light when the hotel staff alerted Rohini's sister as the mother-son duo did not return to the hotel, and their mobile phones were switched off. The sister lodged a missing complaint on April 21, following which the police began an investigation.

Cops arrested two persons identified as Munir Pathan (41), a suspended BEST bus driver from Wadala, and Rohit Admane (40) from Powai. Both the accused revealed during their interrogation that Vishal was murdered, and his mother was kept at a flat in Aarey Colony.

Based on the information, police raided the apartment on May 2 and rescued Rohini, who was in a semi-conscious state. Cops also arrested three persons - Raju Darvesh (42), Pranav Ramteke (25), and Jyoti Waghmare (33) - who were at the apartment. Police found that one of the accused, Pranav Ramteke, who was present in the Aarey flat, was the son of Rohini's brother. It was revealed that the accused was alleged to be the mastermind of the crime.

“Ramteke wanted the Kambles to sell the five-acre plot and bungalow in Kolhapur and share the money with them since the property was in Rohini’s name. The Kambles refused to do so and the main accused took help of the other accused,” said an officer.

Ramteke asked his accomplices to pose as property dealers and offer the family a high price for the Kolhapur property. They invited the mother-son duo to the Panvel farmhouse and committed the crime.

A total of five accused were arrested in connection with the case and further details are awaited.