Property dealer's contract to kill friend backfires in plot twist
The Navi Mumbai police have cracked a double murder case involving two real estate agents, Sumit Jain and Amir Khanzada. The investigation revealed that Jain had hired contract killers to assassinate his friend, Khanzada, over a land deal dispute. However, in an unexpected turn of events, the same killers also murdered Jain. Five suspects have been apprehended in connection with these murders while one remains at large.
Bodies discovered a week after agents reported missing
The bodies of the real estate agents were discovered a week after they were reported missing. Jain's body was found on Pen-Khopoli Road on August 23, while Khanzada's body was located near Karnala bird sanctuary four days later. Among those arrested is Vithal Nakade (43), Jain's business partner. According to DCP (Zone 1) Pankaj Dahane, Nakade and Jain had fraudulently purchased a 3.5-acre land in Pali, Raigad for around ₹2 crore by presenting a fake landowner for registration.
Jain's plan to eliminate Khanzada backfires
The real owner of the land was deceased, and Khanzada, aware of this fraud, demanded a share in the deal from Jain. This led Jain to plot Khanzada's assassination by offering ₹50 lakh to Nakade for hiring contract killers. However, after the murder, when the killers sought payment, Jain claimed he had only offered them ₹25 lakh. This discrepancy in payment led to suspicion and ultimately resulted in Jain's murder by the same contract killers he had hired.
Jain's attempt to stage kidnapping goes awry
ACP (Crime) Ajay Landge revealed that on August 21, Jain had lured Khanzada to a meeting for some property in Raigad. The two met in Nerul and drove together in Khanzada's car, where one of the contract killers shot Khanzada dead. It turns out that Jain had planned to frame the killers by shooting himself in the leg. He then planned to tell the police that Khanzada was killed in a kidnapping attempt, but he managed to escape.
Jain's death and suspects in custody
While disposing of Khanzada's body near the Karnala bird sanctuary, the contract killers demanded their payment from Jain. A dispute arose over the amount promised, leading one of them to stab Jain in his already injured leg and leave him on Pen-Khopoli Road where he bled to death. Besides Nakade, those arrested include contract killers Virendra Kadam (24) from Kanjurmarg, Ankush Sitapure (35) from Ulhasnagar, Jaisingh alias Raja Mudliyar (38) from Badlapur and Anand alias Andry Cruz (39) from Nerul.
