Pune: An investigation by the Bavdhan police into an accidental death case took a dramatic turn when they arrested Ashish Pol (26), a delivery person, on Saturday for a murder plot. The case originally involved Kunal Mohite (38), a resident of Sus, who was killed in what initially appeared to be a hit-and-run accident.
The Incident
Mohite, employed with a logistics firm, was on his routine morning walk on May 16 when a speeding car struck him in front of Platinum Society in Mohannagar, Baner. He was rushed to a hospital but was declared dead on arrival. The Bavdhan police registered a case of accidental death and began their investigation.
Suspicious Evidence
Senior Inspector Anil Vibhute of the Bavdhan police told TOI, "Our team checked CCTV footage in the area and found that a white compact sports utility vehicle (SUV) caused the accident. Our suspicion deepened when we noticed the same car near Mohite's residential building before the accident." The investigating officer and Police Sub-Inspector Sarang Thakare visited the accident spot and discovered a broken registration number plate.
Vibhute added that what corroborated their suspicion of murder was that the registration plate turned out to be fake. "Our team then checked the call details of the victim and his acquaintances. We found that a woman known to the deceased had remained in contact with a cellphone number for the past two years. However, that number had been switched off since May 16. We zeroed in on that number," the officer said.
Breakthrough
The number became active two days ago for a short time, and the police system picked up a call from someone to that number. "The caller was from a car rental firm in Wadgaon Dhayari. Our team reached the firm and found that a person had rented a compact SUV on May 14. The same car was involved in the accident," he said.
PSI Thakare said the police checked the footage and identified the person who had rented the car. This led a police team, led by Assistant Police Inspector Ashok Dongre, to nab Ashish Pol of Parvati. "During interrogation, Pol admitted to killing Mohite," Thakare said.
Motive
Pol, who works as a delivery person, and the woman known to Mohite were in a relationship for the last two years. Mohite was unaware of it. Pol hatched a plot to eliminate Mohite. "He rented a car, blackened its windows, changed the graphics on the rear windscreen, and executed the plot," the officer said.
"We are investigating whether the woman was also involved in the plot. Pol was produced before the court on Saturday. The court remanded him to police custody for seven days," the officer added.
