Man held for Amber Charkha maker's murder

Ahmedabad: Police on Wednesday claimed to have cracked the case of the gruesome murder of Vashram Patel, 64, who had been the manufacturer of 'Ambar Charkha' for more than four decades. Police said they arrested Ashok Bodana, 28, a resident of Madhavpura, who confessed to having killed Patel because the victim had denied him a loan of Rs 5,000 for medical treatment for his wife and daughter.
Police sources said Bodana worked with Patel as welder for more than two years. "Bodana hit Patel thrice with an iron strip on his head and hid the body under discarded gunny sacks and rolls of paper at the warehouse of Kalamkhush, the handmade paper unit at Gandhi Ashram. We recovered Rs 26,000, the rudraksha mala and Patel's cellphone from Bodana," said assistant commissioner of police, Arpita Patel.
The incident sent a shockwave through the Gandhi Ashram campus, as the scene of the crime is barely 200 metres from Hriday Kunj, where Mahatma Gandhi lived for 12 years and preached peace and non-violence.
Narrating the sequence of events, police sources said Bodana and Patel were alone pm the evening of March 13 as three other workers had left at about 5 pm..
Inspector V B Patel of Ranip police station said that soon there were heated arguments between the two, as Patel denied Bodana a loan of Rs 5,000 as he had not repaid an earlier loan of Rs 3,000.
"Bodana picked up an iron plate and hit Patel on his head thrice from behind, while he was seated in a chair, killing him on the spot" added Patel.
Police sources said Bodana then first dragged Patel's body to the charkha room, but out of fear that the body would be found, he took it in a trolley to the nearby warehouse and hid the body under discarded gunny sacks to hide it.
"Bodana then took off Patel's pants, which by then had come down to his knees due to the dragging of the body. There was Rs 50,000 in Patel's pant pocket. Bodana also took the rudraksha necklace with gold joints and Patel's cellphone," said Inspector Patel.
The next day, when the murder came to light, Patel's son Devang called Bodana and asked him to accompany him to the police station to lodge the complaint. Fearing that he would be arrested, Bodana fled from his home and went to various religious places in Rajasthan, Surat and Pavagadh for a week. He then returned to be with his children and wife.
"We kept a watch at his house and picked him up as soon as he was walking towards his house on Wednesday," said ACP Arpita Patel.