Pune businessman’s murder in Karnataka: Extramarital affairs behind killing, prime accused died by suicide in Goa, say police

“We reacted to the crime quickly and arrested Ajmal and Masoom from Delhi and Laksya Jyothinath was arrested from Madgaon in Goa. As Rane came to know that he was on the police radar, he died by suicide. His body has been retrieved,” said a police officer.

On September 22, Vinayak Naik alias Raju, 58, a resident of Pune, was killed in his ancestral village of Hankon village, 15 km away from the district headquarters of Karwar, and his wife sustained injuries in the attack.

A police officer said that Rane, who owned a liquor business in Goa, and Naik, who had an electrical appliances business in Pune, were distant relatives and grew up in the same neighbourhood. The officer said Rane was in a relationship with Naik’s wife and Naik having an affair with Rane’s wife. Their families were aware of their relationships and there were fights between them over the issue in the past, said the officer.

The officer said the families of Rane and Naik fought six months ago after which Rane decided to kill the Pune businessman. He bought a used Swift car and hired some contract killers, but did not order them to attack Naik immediately.

Meanwhile, Naik came to Hankon on September 3 to participate in the local temple fair and perform rituals related to the death anniversary of his mother, and was scheduled to leave for Pune on Sunday early morning.

However, on September 19, Rane’s wife arrived at the village and picked up a fight with Naik’s family. Naik then called Rane, abused him for sending his wife to his home, and asked him to keep a distance. Enraged by it, Naik asked the contract killers he had hired to murder Naik, said the police. On Sunday morning, when Naik was getting ready to leave for Pune, he was hacked to death.

A police officer said Naik’s family hid the extramarital affair issue which complicated the probe into the murder. “As there was no robbery attempt and it was a businessman’s murder, we initially thought it was the underworld or business rivalry could be the motive. But as the investigations progressed, we discovered the affairs. Later, the family gave details,” said the officer.

During their investigation, the Uttar Kannada police also tracked the owner of the second-hand car used by the contract killers to execute the murder. The police found that the car, for which the accused used a fake registration number plate, was bought by a man called Praveen Sudheer, and he sold the vehicle to another person called Ashok Rane. Later, Guruprasad Rane bought the vehicle from him.