Five arrested for a killing that took place nine months ago

Pune police have arrested five persons including a former horse trainer for allegedly killing a 25-year-old man ten months ago.

The incident, which took place in January, came to light today when the accused, arrested for planning a robbery, confessed to the killing during questioning, police said.

Vikram Shekhar Pillai (28), Raju Naik (34), Sambhu Thapa (20), Faruq Rafiq Shaikh (26) and Shahrukh Sikandar Shaikh (25) were arrested afresh for killing Vicky Ramesh Potan (25).

According to a crime branch official, Pillai, who had earlier worked abroad as a horse trainer, left his job and started a food joint in Mundhwa area. Potan, who had a criminal record, often ate at Pillai's joint, but never paid.
 

Fed up with Potan's bullying ways, Pillai and his friends hatched a plan to kill him, the official said.

"The accused called up Potan and offered him alcohol and killed him. Later they chopped up his body into pieces and burnt it near a patch of shrubs in Mundhwa area," said the officer.

All five kept watch on the body as it burnt for one and a half day, he said.

Potan's mother had lodged a complaint after he went missing.

Police arrested Pillai and others following a tip-off that they were going to commit a robbery at a petrol pump yesterday, the officer said. Their interrogation led to information about the nine-month-old crime, he added.