Three held for killing angadia man, Rs 21 Lakh recovered

Ahmedabad: Special Operation Group (SOG) sleuths on Friday arrested three persons from near Nirma institute on SG Road for robbing an employee of a Haryana-based angadia firm of Rs 25 lakh and killing him. Hardik Patel was murdered by spraying pest control solution in his mouth and nose.
When the accused found that Patel was still alive, they strangulated him and disposed of his body at an isolated under-construction building site on Jaghadhari highway in Haryana.
Joint commissioner of police, crime branch, J K Bhatt said that Rs 21.30 lakh cash and the car in which the accused were travelling have been recovered. "Of the three arrested, Pradeep Prajapati hails from Mehsana and was working for the firm. Kaushik Patel is a resident of Mehsana and a fri end of Prajapati. The third accused, Bharatsinh Zala, was in the driving seat when the accused were nabbed.We are hunting for Prajapati's brother-in-law Bakulkumar Prajapati, who was actively involved in the robbery and murder," added Bhatt.
Deputy commissioner of police, crime branch, Deepan Bhadran said that following a dispute with the owner, Pradeep had left the job with the angadia firm earlier this month.
"Rendered jobless, he along with his brother-in law Bakulkumar and friend Kaushik planned to rob his former colleague, Hardik Patel, who still used to work with the same firm," ACP (SOG) B C Solanki said.
He said that the trio reached Yamunanagar area in Haryana by a rented car and offered Patel a lift to Jaghadhari, where he was to deliver the cash. "On their way, they sprayed a pest control medicine in the mouth and nose of Patel to kill him.When they found that he is still alive, they strangulated him to death and disposed of his body at an isolated site," added Solanki.
After giving Rs 1 lakh to Kaushik and Rs 2 lakh to Bakulkumar, Pradeep transferred the money to Mehsana through an angadia firm in Delhi. "Later, Pradeep kept the money in a locker in Visnagar, which was hired in his wife Dharmistha's name. We arrested them when they were transferring the money to another location," Solanki said.