3 Sada Pawle men held for Thakkar killing

Shiva, the fourth accused involved in the shootout is absconding. All the gangsters have a criminal past, asserted senior police officers. Kalia is wanted in two murder cases and has once jumped bail, while Roy specialises in car thefts. The police are investigating Shiva’s past.

Malhotra said the conspiracy to finish off Thakkar was hatched on April 7 at Chikalwadi, behind Bhatia Hospital near Tardeo. The details of the plans were explained to the assassins by Sada Pawle, who instructed his men to open fire within the mill premises if Vallabh Thakkar refused to obey instructions.

The accused told police they carried a reconnaissance of the mill premises around 9.30 am on April 17. But since Thakkar was not in then, they went to Girgaon Chowpatty. They returned two hours later and met him at his office. The accused confessed that Shiva fired one round at Thakkar from point-blank range with a 9 mm pistol. Kalia fired three rounds from a .32 German-made revolver, while Rajesh Roy, who was hiding near the Raghuvanshi Mill gate, rushed to the spot and fired another round.

Joint commissioner (crime) Ranjit Singh Sharma told Express Newsline the three men had earlier planned to kill Thakkar in his office.

However, they later changed the plan, realising that it could be dangerous to kill the mill-owner in the presence of his security staff.

The shooters after the killing drove away in a Maruti 800 (MH01 M 6837) and abandoned the vehicle in a garage at Chikalwadi. The car was stolen from Juhu. The other getaway vehicle, a Maruti van, was stolen from Santacruz. Both the cars were stolen by Roy.