Rival NCP candidate, family arrested for murder of winning Sena leader’s husband in Raigad

The local police began an investigation into the murder, and formed 25 teams to nab the accused. Eventually, their probe led them to
NCP’s Urmila Devkar, her husband Ravindra, their sons Dhanesh and Darshan, and some party supporters.

A police officer said Mangesh Kalokhe was returning home on a bike after dropping his daughter off at school at around 7 am last Friday, when the accused, who was waiting for him in a black car, stopped him and attacked him with swords, a sickle and an axe, which led to his death.

The family alleged that Mangesh informed the local police about threats he faced from NCP rivals, but no action was taken.

Raigad SP Aanchal Dalal said there had been a longstanding dispute between the Kalokhe and Devkar families as they contested against each other even during the earlier elections.

“They had been planning to carry out the murder for a while. The election results accelerated their action,” Dalal said.
On the issue of police not taking action when Kalokhe had told the police that he had been threatened, an officer said that when the incident took place, the local police had called members of both political parties and warned them against any violence.

Last week, Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde visited Mansi, and promised that the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) would be invoked against those involved in the murder.

Soon after the murder came to light, Shiv Sena leaders protested, saying that it was a political murder planned at the behest of some NCP leaders.

Mangesh Kalokhe’s family members have also sought action against a local police officer who they said did not take any action even after Kalokhe approached him, saying he faced a threat from the NCP rival. They had also threatened him on December 25, his family said.