Engineer,supervisor killed at building site

Site supervisor Yogesh Kude (25) was declared dead on arrival at CritiCare hospital in Andheri,while Somraj Devrasi (25),the site engineer,succumbed to injuries a few hours later.

Before fleeing,the two shooters left behind an envelope with a number to contact Pujari. This is the first time Pujari shooters have killed someone as opposed to intimidating people with assaults.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone 10) KMM Prasanna said,“The incident took place around 11.30 am on the premises of Sahana Group of Companies that is carrying out redevelopment work on a plot near the Amboli church. The two men,who had probably come on a bike,entered the premises claiming to be courier boys and went directly to the cabin where the two were working. The assailants then shot a round each at the two men at point-blank range. They threw an envelope near the spot and fled.”

Police sources claim the envelope containing a piece of paper had Ravi Pujari’s name on it along with a phone number that later turned out to be out of service. However,Prasanna refused to reveal the contents of the envelope and said the investigations were on.

“We have registered a case of murder at the D N Nagar police station and are conducting inquiries to trace the identity and whereabouts of the two shooters. We believe only two rounds were fired by the gunmen and people working nearby have corroborated that. We are also going to conduct inquiries with Sudhakar Shetty,chairman of the Sahana group,and ask if he had received any extortion threats in the past,” said Prasanna.

Aslam Moosa,the owner of the land where the redevelopment work is going on,was also present at the site when the shootout took place. The police are trying to make sketches of the two shooters based on the description provided by him.

A police officer,who was a part of the special squad created by the western region to deal with the menace of Ravi Pujari a few months ago,said on conditions of anonymity,“This is the first time Pujari’s men have shot under such circumstances. Pujari’s usual modus operandi was to scare his victims by inflicting flesh wounds meant to injure and scare,but not kill.”

With Ravi Pujari aides involved in two incidents of firing in Nashik and Navi Mumbai last month,the police are yet to ascertain whether the Andheri hit was executed by the same shooters.

Incidentally,Sudhakar Shetty,the chairman of the construction company that was targeted (Sahana Group),was earlier the owner of the famous Deepa dance bar in Vile Parle,where seven alleged Pujari aides had opened fire on March 14,2005,in an attempt to target Shetty’s partner,Humayun Chandiwal.

The police,who are yet to ascertain the motive behind the attack,are also investigating whether the firing was linked to cricket betting during the ICC World Cup since Deepa bar used to be a den of betting and was frequented by bookies and cricketers. Shetty had also been grilled by the police in the case.