Affair ends in daylight murder of coconut trader in Vanthali

Rajkot: An affair led to a feud for months and ended with a brutal murder in public at Vanthali town of Junagadh district, with a 34-year-old coconut trader being beaten and stabbed to death by four men late on Monday night. Vanthali police arrested four men — Rafiksha Sarvadi, his son Arbaz, nephew Akram and Irfansha Banwa — for the murder of Tajim Sodha, based on a complaint filed by the victim's father, Musa Sodha.According to police, the killing occurred around 11pm near the Bhalayshapir shrine, where Tajim was sitting with friends. The accused arrived suddenly and struck him with steel rods, sticks and bladed weapons, inflicting severe head injuries.A friend of the victim, Shakeel Jethwa, who tried to intervene, was also attacked and suffered fractures to his arm and leg, police said."Tajim was bleeding profusely when the ambulance reached the spot," an official said. He was rushed to Vanthali Govt Hospital, where doctors declared him brought dead.The preliminary inquiry indicated that the murder was linked to Tajim's relationship with the daughter of the prime accused, Rafiksha Sarvadi, which had triggered tension between the two families for five months.Musa Sodha stated that the family had earlier received death threats from the accused and had approached police earlier, but the harassment continued.Deputy superintendent of police (Junagadh rural) Ravirajsinh Parmar said the accused have been booked under Section 103(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. "All four are in custody and we are in the process of seizing the weapons used in the crime," he said.