Hours after a 26-year-old auto-rickshaw driver was found murdered in the Janata Vasahat area of Pune, the police arrested Saturday three of his friends, including a fellow rickshaw driver, for allegedly stabbing him to death following a dispute.
The murder came to light in the early hours of Saturday when the body of Akshay Rawade, resident of Dhayari, was found in roadside bushes. Initial probe and postmortem examination pointed to murder using sharp weapons as serious injuries were found on Rawade’s head and hands.
A team from the Dattawadi police station launched a probe. Sleuths from the crime detection branch of the police station received a tip-off that Rawade had fought with some men, including a fellow rickshaw driver.
On Saturday, the police team received a tip-off that the suspects were at a location near the Dandekar bridge. Two teams laid a trap and arrested Vinod Alhat, 37, Aniket Nangare, 24, and Akash Devrukhe, 26, all residents of the Dattawadi area.
Senior inspector Abhay Mahajan said Rawade had used insulting words towards them earlier when he was inebriated. Nursing grudges over the petty dispute, the trio took him on a bike to Janata Vasahat and hacked him to death.
The accused were remanded in police custody Sunday, the police said.
