Hindustan Times ST (Mumbai) - Live
Biz dispute turns fatal: 1 dead, 1 hurt in shootout
THANE: One man died and another sustained injury to his left chest after three gunmen shot them over financial disputes in two separate incidents on Friday in Thane.
Twelve hours after the crime, the police arrested the four accused in the case, identified as Bipin Mishra, 38, Saurav Shinde, 27, and Suraj Mehera, 27, along with their accomplice S Vatkar, who was assisting the three men in the crime by giving them rides in his auto rickshaw.
According to the police, the first incident was reported from Ghantali Road at 5:15am, where three gunmen arrived at the shop of Mahesh Mane from Om Sai Property and started damaging his Maruti Suzuki Ertiga over financial matters. Hearing the commotion, Mane’s employee Ashwin Gamre, 26, and others came out and asked why they were vandalising their employer’s car.
The argument turned physical when Gamre along with others started beating up the three men. Subsequently, the men dispersed and came again with a gun. They started open firing on Mane’s employees. In the incident, Ashwin Gamre suffered a bullet injury to his left chest and is recovering in the Kalwa Hospital.
The second incident took place near Mama Bhanja hills in the jurisdiction of Vartak Nagar police station, a habitual offender Kala Ganya AKA Ganesh Jadhav was shot point blank on the head by the three men and was admitted to Vedant Hospital in Thane where he was declared dead late evening.
Additional commissioner of police crime, Morale, said, “Mane was friends with the men who broke his car, similarly the victim in the second incident Kala Ganya was also on friendly terms with the men. However, due to financial fraud, these accused first broke the car of Mane, fired bullets at his subordinates, and fled. They reached Vartak Nagar and met Kalya Ganya, the trio took him to the Yeoor Jungle around 10am and shot him too due to some financial differences. Ganya was shot in the head; therefore, he was serious and declared dead late at night.”
Police said that accused Bipin Mishra and Mane, the shop owner and deceased Kalya Ganya were business associates. Kalya Ganya has 27 cases registered against him in different police stations and was released recently on bail. On the other hand, Mane entered politics which gave him popularity, both of these people side-lined Bipin for a long time, and with that grudge, he decided to threaten Mane and killed Kalya Ganya to take revenge.