THANE: A 51-year-old man was charred to death after his car was set afire by two people, who rendered him unconscious after lacing his drinks with sedatives at Dasagaon Pada area here, police said on Saturday.
The two accused identified as Karan Paresh Kakkad (23) and Raju Shankar Wadkar (30) have been arrested for killing the victim Narendra Tuljabai Patel on June 1.
The arrests were made on June 6, police said. “On Monday, local residents reported about a car that they found in a burnt condition at Dasagaon Pada located between Palghar and Kelwa in the district. A charred human body was also found inside the car,” Thane DSP (rural) Anil Kumbhare said.
A police team was rushed to the spot. “Police teams were formed to investigate the case and based on the burnt number plate of the car and some other clues, details about the owner of the car were obtained,” he said.
During the probe they found that the car was owned by Narendra Patel, a resident of Chitralaya locality in Boisar in Thane district.
Patel had left his residence on June 1 and did not return home. The last call he had made was to his daughter at about 6.45pm that day, police said.
“After checking his call records, we found that one more, who was lated identified as Karan Kakkad, had called him,” DSP said.
During the probe, it came to light that Patel knew a special formula on how to procure silver from herbs and zinc, police said, adding, “Kakkad wanted that formula from Patel. However, even though he had been repeatedly seeking to know the method, Patel never revealed it to him.”
On June 1, Kakkad decided to take Patel with him saying that he was looking for some herbs. They went by Patel’s car. Kakkad and Wadkar offered some drink to Patel laced with sedatives. “After this the accused started chatting with Patel and got the formula,” police said.
After Patel fell unconscious, Kakkad drove the car to an isolated location. En route he purchased petrol and then set the car on fire to show that Patel died inside the car due to some accident, police said.
When police reached Kakkad’s place on Thursday, they found burn marks on his face. During the interrogation, he confessed to his crime, they said.
API AJ Sindkar of the Satpati police station said his accomplice Wadkar was also arrested on the same day.
According to police, Kakkad is one of the owners of the Royal Dairy in Boisar.
Kakkad and Wadkar were produced before the local magistrate who remanded them into police custody till June 17.
Additional superintendent of police Thane district (rural) M Ramkumar said the accused have been charged under various sections of the IPC.
