Gambling leads to murder & revenge attack near police post

Nagpur: Swayam Nagrale, 19, was stabbed to death in front of his residence inside a parked autorickshaw at Kaushalya Nagar on Friday evening for allegedly opposing gambling activities in the locality infested with anti-criminal elements.

The mastermind behind Nagrale’s murder, Shivam Gurudev, alias Shaktiman, also aged 19 years, was kidnapped on the pretext of settling the matter and assaulted with a sharp weapon and stones before leaving him to die before cops could arrest him for the murder.

Nagrale’s murder and Shaktiman’s assault took place within 10 hours. Sources at the government medical college and hospital (GMCH) said that Shaktiman is extremely critical.

It’s learnt that Nagrale was miffed with gambling activities encouraged by Shaktiman and had been telling him to stop. The police is yet to confirm the reason behind the murder.

According to a source, Nagrale and Shaktiman had an altercation over some local residents playing cards a couple of days ago.

Nagrale’s friends brought Shaktiman, having 11 offences of thefts, to the same locality to settle scores despite a police post just a stone’s throw away. The cops later Nagrale him to hospital.

Sources said Shaktiman was abducted from his uncle’s house at Bhande layout by Nagrale’s friends and brought to Kaushalya Nagar where he was stoned and stabbed. His motionless body was later shifted to GMCH where he is on a ventilator.

Cops from Ajni police station too had visited Shaktiman’s uncle’s place after Nagrale’s murder but he managed to hide on the terrace.

On Saturday, Shaktiman is learnt to have received a call from Nagrale’s friends. During the course of the conversation, Shaktiman revealed his whereabouts to them.

The police’s failure to reign in criminals had come to the fore at Kaushalya Nagar where residents claimed that several residents engage in gambling. Illegal sale of liquor is also rampant in the area, said a resident.

CP Amitesh Kumar, who had visited the spot, said the culprits have been identified and most of them rounded up too. “We are taking stringent action against the culprits and corrective measures too at the affected locality,” he said.

“There had been no complaints of any anti-social activities from Kaushalya Nagar and no incidents too had taken place in the years gone by,” the CP said.

Ajni police have so far arrested Nishant Ghodeshwar, having an assault case against him, for his role behind the murder. Two minors have also been rounded up in the murder case.

Police have also arrested Nagrale’s friends Birju Shinde and Abhishek Ghodeshwar for attacking Shaktiman. More arrests are likely.