Murder was pre-planned: cops

Investigators say new information and clues indicate that 16-year-old Adnan Patrawala’s murder was premeditated and planned over a week before he was kidnapped.

Investigators say new information and clues indicate that 16-year-old Adnan Patrawala’s murder was premeditated and planned over a week before he was kidnapped.

Initially, senior police officers had said Adnan’s kidnappers panicked when they heard that TV channels had flashed news of his abduction and killed him.

Investigators have found a piece of rope from Adnan’s car — a Skoda — in which he was kidnapped. “The rope we found was meant for either strangling the victim or to truss him up,” said Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime), Rakesh Maria on Friday. The police are trying to locate the shop from where the rope was purchased.

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The police said former BPO employee and prime accused Sujit Nair has also admitted that he had made up his mind to kill Adnan as leaving him alive would have exposed him and the others.

“The accused are being questioned every day and we have got indications that they had planned the murder in advance,” said Senior Police Inspector Kiran Sonone from Oshiwara police station. The police believe that only Nair and Rajeev Dharia, another accused, were aware of the murder plan.

“Whenever the abductor is known to the victim, the only fallout is the victim’s murder because leaving him alive would be a dead giveaway, closing all routes for escape,” said Joint Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) K L Prasad.

According to the police, Adnan knew his kidnappers—Nair, Ayush Bhatt, a 17-year-old boy and Dharia— all of whom have been arrested and Lallan Singh, 23, who is still absconding, and had met them first at a gaming parlour in InOrbit Mall.

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Maria said the kidnappers had planned to tie up Adnan and take him to a guest house in Navi Mumbai. However, when they learnt that his family had approached the police, they abandoned their plans and decided to kill him immediately. “The accused had planned to keep Adnan at a lodge in Navi Mumbai for some days. While one of the accused would negotiate with the parents, others would be with him,” said an officer.

However, the first part of the plan failed when the accused, after kidnapping Adnan, realised that they did not have enough money to book a room in even the cheapest lodge in Navi Mumbai, the police said. The accused had taken all the money on Adnan and bought petrol. When they were unable to check into a lodge, they considered hiding Adnan in Nair’s house.

The police said Adnan would probably have been alive if he had been handled by professional kidnappers and not people he knew. “Professional kidnappers have no fear of identification,” said Prasad.