Now Reading: Mumbai police solve watchman murder; five held for robbery plot
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Mumbai police solve watchman murder; five held for robbery plot
Juhu police have arrested five people for the murder of watchman Mohan Yadav on August 1. The accused allegedly planned to rob and kill a businessman, his wife and their daughter at…
The Story in Brief
Juhu police have arrested five people for the murder of watchman Mohan Yadav on August 1. The accused allegedly planned to rob and kill a businessman, his wife and their daughter at Abhijit residential building in Vile Parle (West). The mastermind is Jogeshwar Mallik, 38, the family's cook for 10 years. He procured duplicate keys and spent two-and-a-half years plotting with Vijay Gonjare, 41, driver of a Bollywood film director. Four men befriended Yadav, spiked his drink, strangled him, and dumped his body in a water tank. They failed to open the flat with duplicate keys around 4.30am on August 2 and fled.
Police tracked Gonjare through CCTV footage of him buying operation gloves. Mallik and Gonjare avoided phone calls for six months, meeting in person instead. The building is mostly vacant due to redevelopment, with only three families occupying the 10-storey structure. The arrested also include Sharad Yerudkar, 43, his brother Mahadev Yerudkar, and Aniket Bornak, 30. They have been charged with murder and criminal conspiracy.
The Indian Opinion
This case is a jarring reminder that even a decade of trust can hide a calculated betrayal. But we must resist painting all domestic workers with the same brush. The real failure here is in building security: a watchman alone in a largely empty tower, with no CCTV inside the premises, and a cook who had free access to keys. The test now is whether housing societies, especially those awaiting redevelopment, will install basic safeguards like restricted key access and better surveillance.
Sources (2): timesofindia.indiatimes.com, freepressjournal.in
This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above.
Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources.
