Govt not doing anything to stop accidents on Samruddhi Expressway: Uddhav
Mumbai (PTI): Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday expressed grief over the loss of lives in a bus tragedy in Maharashtra's Buldhana, and targeted the Eknath Shinde-led government for "not doing anything" to stop accidents on the Samruddhi Expressway where it occurred.
In a statement, Thackeray said the Buldhana accident should open the government's eyes as more than 300 people have lost their lives on the expressway since it was opened last year.
A total of 25 passengers were charred to death after the bus they were travelling in caught fire on the Samruddhi Expressway at Pimpalkhuta village near Sindkhedraja in Buldhana around 1.30 am on Saturday. There were 33 persons on board the vehicle, of whom eight survived, police said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had inaugurated the 520-km-long Phase-1 of the Nagpur-Mumbai Samruddhi Mahamarg in December last year. Officially named as 'Hindu Hrudaysamrat Balasaheb Thackeray Maharashtra Samruddhi Mahamarg', it is a pet project of Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
Describing the Buldhana accident as unfortunate and shocking, Thackeray said in a statement that in the last one year, the Samruddhi Expressway has seen more than 300 deaths in accidents.
"But the government has not done anything to stop the accidents. Hope the Buldhana accident will open the eyes of the government," the former chief minister said.
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'Contract killing' plot busted in Thane; victim's brother among four held
Thane (PTI): The Thane police have uncovered a "contract killing" plot and arrested four persons, including the victim's younger brother, who allegedly hired the assailants and lodged the complaint to mislead investigators and hide his role in the murder, officials said on Sunday.
The victim, identified as Paresh Tolaram Patil (40), was hacked to death on May 12 over a property dispute, and his brother allegedly paid Rs 10 lakh to the contract killers, an official said.
The same day, Naresh Tolaram Patil (37), an auto-rickshaw driver residing in the Bhiwandi area of Maharashtra's Thane district, lodged a police complaint alleging that his elder brother Paresh had been murdered by unidentified persons.
According to Naresh, his brother was riding his motorcycle to work at Vasai in neighbouring Palghar district when the unidentified assailants intercepted him and assaulted him with sharp weapons, in-charge Superintendent of Police Anmol Mittal said.
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Following the complaint, the Ganeshpuri police registered a case of murder on May 13.
The investigation teams examined several CCTV recordings along the suspected escape routes and used advanced technical surveillance.
The police then traced the registration plate of a vehicle allegedly used by the assailants, leading to the arrest of three alleged contract killers -- Rakesh Bhagwan Patil (37), Premjit Madhukar Gharat (38), and Daksh Bhanukant Bhoir (24) -- from Palghar, the official said.
"During intense interrogation, the three persons confessed to their involvement in the killing. They revealed that the plot was masterminded by the victim's brother, Naresh Patil, who had lodged the initial police complaint to misguide the law enforcement agencies," he said.
According to the official, Naresh Patil confessed to hatching the conspiracy due to an ongoing property dispute with his elder brother and that he had offered Rs 10 lakh to the three accused to eliminate Paresh.
Naresh Patil has also been arrested, and a further probe is underway into the case, they added.
