5 months ago
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NAGPUR: A dhaba owner was allegedly strangled, stabbed and bludgeoned to death by two of his workers at the eatery near Kuhi phata in Nagpur rural police area in the wee hours of Saturday. The victim, Raju Dhengre, had refused to meet the workers' demand for a Diwali bonus, which led to the murder, said sources. The alleged assailants are at large.
Dhengre was a former sarpanch (village headman) of Surgaon village in Kuhi taluka and had won the recent gram panchayat polls.
SP Harssh A Poddar said prima facie the murder seems to have occurred over monetary issue but "political rivalry angle is also being explored". "The case is being investigated from different angles," said the SP.
The assailants, identified as Chhotu and Adi, hail from Mandla in Madhya Pradesh. As per the police, Dhengre had hired the duo through a labour contractor near Madhya Pradesh state bus stop in the city around a month ago.
Sources said Dhengre enjoyed good reputation and was not caught in any major controversy. His family holds strong influence over the village. A politically connected person, Dhengre was backed by the BJP, they said, and added that though he had won, his political clout had taken a hit as his rival camp had a good run in the recent GP election.
Chhotu and Adi had fled with Dhengre's car after the murder but rammed it into the divider on Nagpur-Umred road near Vihirgaon. Both were injured after the car, which was travelling from Pachgaon to Nagpur, turned turtle.
The accident has been caught in a CCTV footage which shows the two assailants coming out of the car and fleeing towards Dighori naka. They took an e-rickshaw from Dighori but their movement could not be traced thereon.
Police said Dhengre had an altercation with Adi and Chhotu while having dinner together. The duo was demanding money and bonus for Diwali. Dhengre was willing to pay them but at a later date.
Later, Dhengre went and slept on a cot. Adi and Chhotu strangled him with a rope before smashing his head with a hard object and slashed his face with a sharp weapon. The two left a motionless Dhengre on the cot, covered the body with a quilt and drove away with his car. Another worker who was witness to the murder fled to the kitchen fearing for his life.
Dhengre's daughter tried calling him repeatedly but when there was no response she called up a pan kiosk owner in the dhaba's vicinity. The pan kiosk owner went to the dhaba where he discovered Raju Dhengre's body on the cot and raised an alarm.
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