Mumbai, Dec 28 The Mumbai Police have cracked a shocking triple murder case that took place under the cover of a major fire engulfing a Saibaba Temple in suburban Kandivali west early on Sunday morning.
Two persons a minor boy and a 20-year-old youth have been arrested for the crime, a top official said here on Monday.
Police said earlier it had considered the death of three persons - Mahesh R. Gupta, 24, Yuvraj V. Pawar, 28, Subhash A. Khode, 29 - in the fire an "accidental death".
"The victims were sleeping in the Sai Sadichha Temple premises when a fire, due to a suspected short circuit, broke out around 4 a.m. on Sunday... they were charred to death," said Additional Commissioner of Police, North Region, Dilip Sawant.
As per initial indications, the blaze was probably due to a short-circuit followed by a blast in an air-cooler or a water-cooler gas cylinder and an accident death report was registered, he added.
However, based on some reliable tips from local informers and even a preliminary probe by the Fire Department, the Charkop police swung into action and cracked what turned to be a daring case of triple murder inside the temple premises.
The arrested duo is said to working as workers in a nearby shop, and nursed an old grudge with one of the victims, said Sawant.
Charkop police led by Rajendra Satpute and his team managed to trace out and nab the accused duo, whose interrogation revealed a murder conspiracy planned since long.
For over a year, the accused duo had reportedly been harassed by Pawar, who also assaulted the 20-year old accused on Thursday.
Nursing an old grudge, the duo kept an eye on the movements of Pawar and finally got the opportunity on Sunday.
After a drinking binge in the temple premises, the duo went and emptied a scooter of five litres of petrol into a plastic can, splashed it in the temple premises and lit it.
When one of the gas cylinders suddenly burst, the 20-year old accused also sustained burn injuries and is under treatment, while the sleeping Pawar, Gupta and Khode perished in the flames.
"The motive is believed to be personal enmity. We have now registered a case of murder against the two accused and further probe is underway," said Satpute.
( With inputs from IANS )
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