The accused, Sanjay Lad (32), Gurudip Virdhi (36) and Anil Morvekar (27), all Bhandup residents, were arrested on November 21 in connection with the attack on the RTI activist (whose name has not been disclosed by police) in August last year, crime branch officials said.
According to police, days after the attack on the victim, who is the member of an anti-corruption NGO 'Public Concern for Governance Trust' led by former Mumbai Police Commissioner J F Ribeiro, Bhandup police had arrested two accused - Dilip Vashnav and Vilas Kadam - for their alleged role in the crime.
However, the duo was released on bail with no much evidence to prove their direct role in the crime was provided and actual assaulters were on the run, police said.
Later the case was handed over to the Crime Branch wing which probed the case and nabbed Lad, Morvekar and Vidhi, who had attacked the victim with iron rods before escaping from the scene of crime, police said.
Revealing the reason for the attack, police said accused Kadam used to run an unlicensed security agency to which the victim had objected and dragged him to court.
Kadam had to shutdown his agency as he lost the legal battle following which he harboured grudge against the victim.
Along with his brother-in-law Lad, Kadam then hatched a conspiracy to attack the victim, police said, adding, the murderous attack took place on August 25 last year.
