Katraj, 4th July 2021: Bharati Vidyapeeth police station under Pune city police has arrested four persons including the Maharaj of Walhekarwadi Math for the murder of a businessman due to an illicit relationship. After the murder, the body was dumped in Katraj Ghat to pass it off as an accident case.
The deceased has been identified as Anand Gujar (44), a resident of Akurdi. The arrested persons are Mathadhipati Ramesh Vilas Kumbhar (49) of Akurdi who lived near Gorakhnath Temple in Walhekarwadi, his disciples Yadda Yogesh Nikam (19) and Amol Ramdas Baddam, both residing at Shivgorakshanath Math in Walhekarwadi and Saroj Anand Gujar (40), a native of Kharghar near Panvel.
Based on a complaint from the deceased’s brother Sunil Gulab Gujar (36), a resident of Khatav in Satara district, an FIR has been registered against the accused.
According to police, on Saturday morning passersby informed Bharati Vidyapeeth police station about a body in front of Hotel Marathi Shahi near the new Katraj tunnel. Police also found a two-wheeler near the body. However, the registration number was found to be fake. Police traced the owner from the chassis number. It turned out that the two-wheeler belonged to Anand Gujar. After the body was identified, the police investigation was speeded up.
An investigation by the police revealed that Gujar’s wife had been living in the Walhekarwadi Math for the last six months. She owned an Idea Company agency. She has also gifted a Brezza car to the Maharaj. Anand Gujar also had a business. It has been closed since the lockdown.
Police questioned everyone in the Math and found out about the murder. Anand Gujar had gone to Math on Friday evening. There he had a heated argument with his wife and the Maharaj. In this quarrel, his wife, Maharaj and Maharaj’s disciples beat him with a wooden bat and bamboos resulting in Anand’s. The Maharaj plotted to dispose of Anand’s body. His body was taken in a car and dumped near the tunnel.
After changing the registration number of Anand’s two-wheeler, a disciple drove it to Katraj Ghat and abandoned it near the body. The accused were arrested within hours of the identification of the body, said Senior Police InspectorJagannath Kalaskar, in-charge of Bharti Vidyapeeth police station.
The investigation team included Police Inspector Prakash Pasalkar and PSI Nitin Shinde, and policemen Ravindra Bhosale, Ravindra Chippa, Sachin Pawar, Hershal Shinde, Ganesh Shende, Vikram Sawant, Ashish Gaikwad, Sachin Gade, Jagdish Khedkar, Prasad Tapre and Santosh Khatal.
