Hours earlier,Pathak targeted another man

While the main accused in the Kurar murders,Uday Pathak,is still on the run,the probe has revealed that he had two other squabbles on Saturday,hours before he allegedly planned and executed the kidnapping and murder of four young men from Kurar village. Officers of the Mumbai Police Crime Branch on Wednesday recorded the statement of another Kurar resident,Suhas Kotian,who investigators believe was one of Pathak’s first targets.

According to investigating officers,Kotian and Pathak’s brother Jeetu had had a tiff in 2007 over slum rehabilitation,following which Jeetu and his associates had assaulted Kotian. “At that time,Pathak was externed from the area,but since his return he had been searching for Kotian. Six days before the incident,Pathak had tried to find him. Around 5.30 pm on Saturday,Pathak was sitting near Lakshmi Hotel with his associates and consuming alcohol when he saw Kotian,who immediately fled the spot,” said a Crime Branch officer. Furious that his target had slipped away again,Pathak resumed drinking when Bharat Kudle,one of the victims,and his friend Sachin Dhuri arrived at the spot and a squabble ensued.

Further cause for his rage was to follow soon. When he threatened Bharat and Sachin,the duo called up their friends and beat up Pathak and his aides around 8 pm,following which Pathak summoned more men who outnumbered the victims and their friends.

The police are now checking if the case of eve-teasing registered against him hours before the kidnapping was genuine. “Pathak had reportedly chanced upon his former girlfriend Reshma Suttar (18) and had molested her after an argument at 8 pm,” said Additional Commissioner of Police (North) Ramrao Pawar. In her statement to the police,Reshma said she went to the Kurar police station around 8.30 pm and complained about the incident with Pathak. “Instead of lodging an FIR against Uday,the police officers called him to the police station and released him after taking a fine of Rs 1,200,” she said.