Scrap dealer beaten to death on suspicion of theft, 4 arrested

Four watchmen in Kalyan were arrested for beating a scrap dealer to death on suspicion of theft. The accused were caught while planning to flee.

THANE: The police on Friday arrested four watchmen from an under-construction site in Kalyan for beating a 32-year-old scrap dealer to death on suspicion of theft. The accused were planning to flee when the police caught them.

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A private contractor is developing a bus stand opposite Kalyan railway station under the Smart Cities Mission and therefore a large amount of iron material is kept at the site for the development work. Six security guards have been deployed to guard the site around the clock.

On Thursday evening, police were informed of the body of a young man who was dumped under a bridge near Kalyan railway station. The unknown man appeared to be between 30 to 35 years old and had assault injuries on his body.

The Mahatma Phule police reached the spot and sent the body for autopsy. The injury marks made it clear that the man, identified as Raju Singh, was murdered. The police formed two teams to investigate the matter. Through CCTV footage of the area, the police found that the watchmen deployed at the ST stand site were around the spot at the relevant time. They were, therefore, called for questioning.

Senior police inspector of Mahatma Phule police station, S Salvi said, “The accused confessed to beating Raju Singh as they noticed that scrap was being stolen from the site in the last few days. On Wednesday night, he was nabbed by the four watchmen and all of them beat him up.”

The police have booked the watchmen, identified as Imran Shaikh, Parameshwara Dhahije, Lahu Dhadi and Krishna Sable for murder under section 302 of the Indian Penal Code.