GP member murder: 3 more suspects held
Nagpur: Khaparkheda police, led by Kanhan SDPO Sudarshan Gaikwad, arrested three more suspects in connection with the murder of gram panchayat member Atul Patil, who was stabbed to death last week in Pipla Dak Bungalow.
The arrest of Chetan Talmale, Rajat Wat, and Hitesh Dhage has taken the total number of arrests in the case to five. Earlier, sarpanch Vishnu Kokadde and the alleged stabber Himanshu Kumbhalkar were apprehended.
Considering the sensitivity surrounding the case and the possibility of political rivalry, superintendent of police Harssh Poddar had assigned SDPO-rank officer to investigate the case.
Sources say Patil, a close associate of BJP leaders, was key rival of Congress-supported Kokadde and aspiring gram panchayat member Talmale, who was gearing up to contest the upcoming zilla parishad election.
Patil had exposed an alleged scam involving Kokadde, leading to charges of forgery and fraud against the sarpanch. Investigation suggests that the murder stemmed from political tensions, with Patil's whistleblowing and rivalry with Kokadde and Talmale as central motives.
Gaikwad's team is probing deeper into the roles of the newly arrested three, who are believed to have conspired in the crime.
Police are intensifying efforts to uncover further evidence and potential accomplices, as the murder exposes fault lines in Pipla Dak Bungalow's political landscape.
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