Pune: Rs 2,000 Dispute Turns Fatal in Mulshi, Labourer Killed and Body Dumped in Lake
Mulshi, 17th September 2026: A 26-year-old labourer was allegedly murdered over a dispute involving Rs 2,000, with the accused tying his hands and legs, fastening stones to his body and dumping it in a lake in Mulshi taluka to destroy evidence.
The Pimpri Chinchwad crime branch’s Unit II and Anti-Gunda Squad cracked the murder case within 15 days and arrested the prime accused from Ghazipur in Delhi. Police said they traced the accused through technical analysis despite the lack of CCTV footage around the crime scene.
The arrested accused has been identified as Gopal alias Raj Sadhan Biswas (20), a resident of Ghazipur, Delhi, originally from West Bengal. The deceased was identified as Mahendrakumar Omprakash Banjare (60), a resident of Dudhale Vasti in Lavale, Mulshi.
Banjare lived with his wife Sunita at Dudhale Vasti and worked as a labourer. On August 30, at around 8pm, he told his wife that he was stepping out and left home. However, he did not return.
His wife subsequently lodged a missing-person complaint. On September 2, Banjare’s body was found in a lake at Dudhale Vasti. Following the recovery, police added charges of murder and destruction of evidence to the case.
The crime branch Unit II and Anti-Gunda Squad launched a parallel investigation. As the incident had occurred in a rural area, police could not find any CCTV footage near the crime scene. Banjare had visited the market in Pirangut, prompting police to examine CCTV footage from the area, but it did not provide any useful leads.
Technical analysis subsequently indicated the involvement of two labourers from the Ghazipur area of Delhi. However, tracing the suspects proved difficult as they did not use mobile phones, police said.
A police team then conducted a three-day search using traditional investigation methods and laid a trap before taking Gopal into custody. During questioning, he allegedly confessed to killing Banjare following a dispute over Rs 2,000.
The operation was carried out by a team comprising senior police inspector Sandeep Sawant of Crime Branch Unit II, senior inspector Bhaskar Pulli of the Anti-Gunda Squad, assistant inspector Harish Mane, police sub-inspector Mayuresh Salunkhe and Sameer Londhe.
