Police arrest five after missing man's skeleton found in Nalasopara water tank
The skeleton of a 32-year-old history-sheeter, who had been missing for nearly five months, was recovered from a water tank in a residential complex in Nalasopara, in Maharashtra's Palghar district. Following the discovery on Friday, police arrested five men in connection with the alleged murder of the missing man.
The deceased, identified as Ravi Bidlan, had been missing since January 15. According to the police, Bidlan was a history-sheeter who was involved in several serious criminal cases.
The crime came to light on Friday after the victim's brother, Pankaj, approached the police with fresh inputs about Ravi's disappearance. Pankaj alleged that Ravi had been murdered by a group of individuals and his body had been thrown into a water tank at the time of the incident.
Following the tip-off, a police team from the Achole Police Station, which falls under the Mira Bhayandar-Vasai Virar (MBVV) Police Commissionerate, immediately went to the spot. The officers recovered the skeleton from the residential complex's water tank. The family subsequently identified the remains as Ravi's based on the clothes found along with the skeleton.
During the investigation, police found that a few days prior to his disappearance, Ravi had allegedly assaulted Rohan Jagdale, who is also known as Tiger. Investigators suspect that Jagdale and his associates later attacked Ravi in retaliation for the assault. They allegedly killed Ravi by striking his head with a stone and then disposed of his body in the water tank to conceal the crime.
Based on the complaint filed by the victim's brother, the police arrested the main accused, Rohan Jagdale (22). They also arrested four of his associates: Karan Shankar Shettyar (22), Utkarsh Anand Avasarmal (20), Shakti Sunil Singh (28), and Sumit Azad Sarsar, also known as Bapurna (25).
According to the police, all five arrested suspects are history-sheeters. A murder case has been registered against them, and the skeletal remains have been sent for forensic examination, with the report still awaited. Further investigation into the case is currently underway.
