In Pune, two cousins were arrested on Sunday in Junnar taluka for fatally beating a 20-year-old man on August 2 and dumping his body in a gorge at Phalode village in Ambegaon taluka, around 110 km from the city. Pune Rural police revealed that the crime stemmed from a land dispute. The murder was discovered during the investigation of a missing person's report filed by the victim's father, Nikhil Gholap, on August 7 at Otur police station. The suspects, Abhishek Gholap (21) and Jitendra Gholap (31) from Watkhale village in Junnar taluka, were arrested by a police team led by assistant inspector Lahu Thate. They have been charged under sections 103 (murder), 61 (criminal conspiracy), and 238 (concealing evidence of a crime) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
The Ghodegaon police located Nikhil's badly decomposed body on August 15, which was cremated as no one came forward to claim it. Nikhil's relatives identified the body through photographs and clothing. Investigating officer Nadeem Tadvi from the Otur police revealed that Nikhil's disappearance was reported by his father on August 7 after he failed to return home since August 1 and his cellphone remained unreachable.
The suspects engaged with the police and sought help from local politicians to escalate the search efforts for Nikhil. Investigations revealed that Nikhil had frequent phone conversations with the cousins, whose location was traced to Junnar. The suspects initially denied involvement but eventually confessed to killing Nikhil during sustained questioning.
The investigation officer, Tadvi, mentioned that the victim's family had an ongoing land dispute with the suspects' family.The arrested pair claimed that the victim, Nikhil, had been harassing and mistreating them for several months. Feeling fed up with the harassment, they reportedly made a plan to kill Nikhil, according to Tadvi. Nikhil resided alone in his home in Vatkhale as his parents had moved to Rajgurunagar for work. "On the evening of August 1, the duo lured Nikhil from the Junnar bus stop by saying they were taking him to the Bhimashankar temple. En route, they bought liquor for Nikhil," Tadvi explained. After arriving in Phalode village in Ambegaon taluka, the suspects coerced Nikhil to drink alcohol. They then led a drunken Nikhil near a hill. When Nikhil realized they were not heading towards Bhimashankar, he began to verbally abuse them. "The pair then struck him with a large stone and disposed of his body in a nearby gorge. They also threw Nikhil's phone into the Kukadi river," Tadvi added.
