The Thane Crime Branch has successfully solved a 12-year-old murder case, arresting construction contractor and reel star Surendra Patil (55) for the alleged abduction and murder of a Dombivli resident over a property dispute. The victim's body was dumped in a forest near Murbad in 2014.
Details of the Case
Police stated that the victim, Karan Bagul, owned approximately ten guntha of land in Dombivli. In 2014, he entered into a development agreement with Patil. However, a dispute over the project arose, leading to Bagul's alleged abduction on October 4, 2014. He was taken to Patil's office in Dawdi, where he was fatally assaulted with an iron rod.
Role of Accomplices
Investigators revealed that Patil allegedly enlisted the help of two workers, Chandrakant Gaykar (39) and Suresh Degawat (32), to dispose of the body in a remote forested area in Murbad. The victim's face was severely disfigured, making identification difficult when the body was recovered by Murbad police following a local alert. With no leads at the time, the case was registered as an accidental death.
Reopening of the Probe
Bagul was listed as missing in Manpada police records for years, until Patil's recent arrest in an arms case led investigators to reopen the probe. This allowed them to establish the victim's identity and the alleged conspiracy. DCP (Crime) Amar Sinh Jadhav confirmed that the rod used in the assault has been recovered, and all three accused have been remanded to police custody until May 2.
Patil's Criminal Background
Police described Patil as a habitual offender with multiple serious cases registered across Thane district. He recently made headlines after a midnight raid at his Dawdi residence uncovered a staggering arsenal of illegal weapons, concealed within a hidden compartment of a shoe rack in his house.
