A non-resident Gujarati (NRG) is being deemed as the mastermind behind the killing of a 75-year-old man in Detroj taluka of Ahmedabad district.
Identified as Ravi Patel, a resident of Chicago in the US, he has been accused of plotting the thrashing of the victim through contract killers, which eventually led to his death.
Ravi’s cousin, Saurav Patel, 25, of Mehsana allegedly orchestrated the whole plan to avenge an old feud he had with the victim Shambhu Patel with the backing of Ravi.
Saurav has been arrested and put behind the bars, while two of the four accused who committed the crime are still at large.
Saurav Patel allegedly gave a contract to goons to break the legs of Shambhu Patel, a grocer from Odhav village, who succumbed to his injuries on May 19. It all began with a previous altercation that left Saurav with a fractured leg.
“On May 16, while Shambhu Patel was asleep outside his grocery store in Odhav, four machete-wielding assailants assaulted him. Shambhu screamed for help, but the four kept hitting him till he fainted,” said PSI AN Jani of Detroj police.
Shambhu was initially rushed to a private hospital in Kadi and later transferred to Civil Hospital in Asarwa. According to Shambhu’s son, Bharat, his father was subsequently moved to a private hospital near Vaishnodevi Circle, where he succumbed to his injuries on May 19.
During the investigation, authorities identified Shambhu’s assailants as Joravarsinh Jhala, 22, a resident of Katosan in Jotana taluka of Mehsana, and Sandipsinh Jhala, 22, a resident of Dhanpura in Jotana. Saurav and Ravi had contracted them to fracture Shambhu’s legs, Jani disclosed.
The altercation between Saurav and Shambhu occurred around a year and a half ago, during which Shambhu subdued Saurav and broke his leg. Ever since, Saurav had been seeking retribution. He spoke about it to Ravi, who gave him the idea of giving out a contract to break Shambhu’s legs. However, Shambhu lost his life due to severe bleeding.
Jani confirmed that the police had arrested Saurav, Joravarsinh, and Sandipsinh on charges of murder. Ravi is currently in the US while two other accused, Khumansinh Jhala and Chhanubha Jhala, were on the run, he added.
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