A 32-year-old man from Pune who was previously into construction business was allegedly kidnapped and beaten to death last week for the money he owed to bookies for cricket betting, police said Wednesday. The probe has revealed that the suspects had been threatening the man and demanding their money back, prior to the abduction on November 15.
The police have arrested two bookies – Vishal Amrale, 35, and Lahu Mane, 40.
According to police, the deceased Nikhil Chandrashekhar Anbule, a resident of Ambegaon Budruk, ran a construction business in the past but was currently unemployed.
A First Information Report (FIR) in the case was lodged at Bharti Vidyapeeth police station on Monday by his wife Harshada who works with a multinational IT firm in Pune.
According to the FIR, Harshada received a call from Nikhil in the early hours of November 16 in which he said that some people had kidnapped him and had kept him confined. He told her they would not release him until he paid the amount he owed to them. “Nikhil’s friend told Harshada that her husband was abducted by some persons in a car at Ambegaon area on the night of November 15. Sometime later the family members transferred Rs 28,000 to Nikhil’s account through an online banking application. After a while Nikhil returned home and suddenly collapsed. He was rushed to a hospital where he was pronounced dead,” she stated in the complaint.
The investigation into the case revealed that Nikhil placed bets on cricket matches through bookies Amrale and Mane. The police said that they had demanded Rs 28,000 that Nikhil owed them and threatened him.
According to police, it is learnt that before November 15, the bookies had beaten him up once. “After he was kidnapped, he was confined at a place near KK Market where he was thrashed on the back and on the chest, which led to his death. We have arrested Amrale and Mane and have launched a search for their accomplices.” said an officer from Bharti Vidyapeeth police station.
