PANJIM: The Mapusa Police cracked the murder of a 28-year-old, who was found murdered near a sluice gate at Quitla-Aldona late Friday night. The police teams, formed to solve the “blind murder case” soon after the crime, managed to lay their hands on concrete clues that ultimately led them to 46-year-old Mukesh Devekar living in the neighbourhood at Quitla.
“Working all night several persons were questioned, electronic and forensic evidence was collected. Efforts led to identification of accused Mukesh Devekar, a resident of Quitla. He admitted that he had got into an argument with the deceased Avinash Sakhalkar, which led to a fight in which the accused killed the deceased,” read a press statement issued by North Superintendent of Police Shobhit Saxena on Saturday evening.
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On Friday night, the local police were informed about the murder of a youth whose body with head injuries was found in a drain. The youth was later identified as Avinash Sakhalkar, aged 28 years.
Police sources informed Herald that unemployed Sakhalkar allegedly provoked the accused that resulted in a scuffle between the two. “The victim was in an inebriated state when he hurled abuses at Devekar, who was returning in a Bolero car after fishing. Sakhalkar was on his scooter. He abused the driver for flashing headlights on high beam. This led to a verbal argument and they exchanged blows until Sakhalkar ran out of strength. Once he fell on the ground, Devekar smashed Sakhalkar head with a stone resulting in the victim’s instant death,” the source said.
Five police teams of Deputy Superintendent of Police Gajanan Prabhudesai, Police Inspectors Tushar Lotlikar and Sandesh Chodankar among other personnel were dispatched to different locations for tracking leads to solve the murder mystery.
The source said that investigation teams came across information to crack down on the accused. A white car seen around the time when Salkhalkar was found dead and Devekar returning from fishing during the same time solved the mystery in less than 24 hours. “We had a witness who identified the accused. Devekar confessed to the crime and we soon took him into custody. He is arrested for murder,” the source said.
Sakhalkar’s mother is a head constable attached to the office of a Sub Divisional Police Officer.
