Driver, accomplice arrested for killing 75-year-old petrol pump owner in Virar

MUMBAI: Eighteen days after a 75-year-old petrol pump owner was found murdered in his car, the Mira Bhayander-Vasai Virar police crime branch has arrested the victim’s driver and one of his accomplices for allegedly killing the elderly Ulhasnagar resident. The duo was preparing to flee to Nepal and search is on for a third accomplice, said police.
Petrol pump owner Ramchand Kakrani’s body was found inside his car with his hands tied on August 26. His family later told the police that cash worth ₹1.5 lakh and his watch and gold ring, together worth around ₹22 lakh, were missing when the body was recovered.
According to the Naigaon police which investigated the case, the main accused is 58-year-old Mukesh Khubchandani, who was Kakrani’s driver and a history sheeter. He had arrested in August 2011 for giving false information about a bomb on a long-distance train; in January 2015 in a case of gutkha smuggling in Bhiwandi; in 2020 for robbing his sister-in-law’s house in Bhopal; and in 2023, for robbing an elderly woman in Ulhasnagar by posing as a food delivery person. He had also been arrested in a case of smuggling liquor from Gujarat, said police.
Khubchandani had met Ramlal Yadav and Anil Thapa, the other two accused, while they were together in jail in Hyderabad. He had stayed in touch with the duo after he started working for the petrol pump owner.
Kakrani carried a lot of cash with him every day while returning from his pump in Virar to his home in Ulhasnagar, which Khubchandani shared with his accomplices. Around six months ago, the trio met in Nepal to discuss plans of robbing the businessman.
“Apart from the driver, the two other accused were identified after examining footage from over 300 CCTV cameras,” said Avinash Ambure, deputy commissioner of police, MBVV crime branch. Yadav is a history sheeter while Thapa is a native of Nepal, said sources.
Six police teams were formed to probe the case, said senior police inspector Ramesh Bhame. The investigation revealed that on August 25, Kakrani was carrying around ₹1.75 lakh with him in cash while returning home from the pump. Khubchandani, his driver, picked up Yadav and Thapa on the way, near the highway at Mandvi, metres away from Virar naka.
“The trio strangled Karani, seated on the front passenger seat, from behind. They looted the cash, his watch worth ₹5 lakh and gold ring worth ₹15 lakh and fled towards Gujarat, leaving the body in the car along the Mumbai Ahmedabad highway,” said a police officer.
The accused used public transport while on the run and travelled several miles on foot to dodge the police. But the police managed to trace them while they were travelling on a train from Gujarat to Uttar Pradesh.
On Wednesday, Khubchandani and Thapa were arrested with the help of the UP special task force. They were brought to Mumbai on Thursday and sent to police remand on Friday. A search is on for Yadav, the third accused, said police.