The body of a 28-year-old man from Boisar, who manufactured counterfeit liquor, was found near the Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway on January 9, days after he went missing, according to a police complaint filed by his family.
The family of the man, Deepak Bharadwaj, has alleged he was murdered by his business partner over money. They registered a first in formation report (FIR) on January 10 and the police have said they are on the lookout for the accused.
The family of Bharadwaj, who also worked as a tailor and delivered Maharashtra State Electricity Board (MSEB) bills, told the police he started making and selling duplicate liquor two months ago with Harishankar alias Gauri Nishad.
They said Bharadwaj left home on January 6, around 2.30 pm, telling his wife Rekha he was going with Harishankar to Virar to buy raw material to make liquor.
Bharadwaj called his wife at around 5.45 pm, in what would be his last call, and informed her he would be home within an hour. However, he did not return and his phone was switched off that night and remained unreachable.
The next day, Bharadwaj’s brother Jitendra, a complainant in the case, went to look for him at Harishankar’s house but found it locked. The neighbours told Jitendra that Harishankar had left the night before along with two men and had not returned.
Bharadwaj’s family then filed a missing complaint with the Boisar police station the same day. Meanwhile, they also tried reaching out to Harishankar, but his phone was switched off.
According to the FIR, Harishankar called Bharadwaj’s wife Rekha on January 8 and said he had been arrested by the police in Thane and would be behind bars for two to three months. He also told her he did not have any information about Bharadwaj.
On January 9, a group of nine to 10 men known to Bharadwaj along with his brothers started looking for him in Virar, but could not find him. While they were on their way back to Boisar, they spotted an ambulance with a police team in the Sakwar village on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway.
They learnt a body had been found and discovered it was Bharadwaj’s. The body was sent for post mortem.
They lodged an FIR for murder on January 10 at the Virar police station.
“We are searching for the accused,” said Suresh Varhade, senior police inspector of Virar police station.
Source: https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/boisar-businessman-murder-fake-liquor-7720601/
