Nagpur: The Seven Hills Bar murder, that was caught live on CCTV camera and went viral across the country through internet, came to its logical end on Monday. In a major judgement, the additional sessions judge M W Chandwani sentenced all the six accused to life imprisonment on the basis of the CCTV footage.
The accused who have been sentenced are Tushar Sahebrao Dalal (33), a resident of Dattatreya Nagar, Kunal Motiram Maske (32), a resident of Corporation Colony, Gangabai Ghat, Laxmikant alias Lachchu Ravindra Faye (34), a resident of Bhutiya Darwaza, Mahal, Amol Mahadeorao Mandale (32), a resident of Bhande Plot, Rupesh alias Rinku Vitthal Tichkule (31), a resident of Congress Nagar and Sameer Suresh Katkar (31), a resident of Somwaripeth, Raghuji Nagar.
The name of the deceased was Jeetu alias Jeetendra Marotrao Gawande, a resident of Bhagwan Nagar. The incident had taken place at the Seven Hills Bar in Sakkardara Bhande Plot on January 10, 2013.
What Happend:
The deceased Jeetu Gawande was a property dealer. The main accused in the case was Tushar Dalal. Jeetu and Tushar had friendly relations. In December 2012, Tushar had borrowed 50,000 from Jeetu for his wife’s delivery. He had promised to return the amount within 4 to 5 days. Repeated reminders by Jeetu to return his money fell on deaf ears as Tushar was not ready to pay back. It was this money that became a bone of contention between Tushar and Jeetu. Not wanting to return the money, Tushar planned the murder of Jeetu in connivance with his friends.
On the day of the murder, Jeetu was at the sub registrar’s office at Mahakalkar Bhavan for some registration work alongwith his brother Pradeep. From there, he called up Tushar again and asked for the money. This led to an argument between the two. Tushar had threatened Jeetu on the phone to the effect that if he continues to ask for money time and again, he will be eliminated. This conversation between the two was heard by Jeetu’s brother Pradeep as the speaker of Jeetu’s phone was on.
After some time, Tushar called up Jeetu and told him to take back his money. He told Jeetu to come to Seven Hills Bar. Jeetu went in his Mahindra Scorpio to the designated place at about 5 pm. Before his arrival, four accused namely Tushar Dalal, Kunal Maske, Lachchu Faye and Rinku Tichkule were already inside the bar. Outside the bar, two other accused namely Sameer Katkar and Amol Mandale were stationed, waiting for Jeetu.
Another argument broke out between Jeetu and Tushar over the borrowed money inside the bar after which Jeetu was killed in cold blood.
Murder caught live on CCTV camera
There were 8 cameras installed in the bar. The entire incident of murder was caught by the cameras. The manager of the bar had informed the police about the incident after which a team of cops had reached the bar. The CCTV footage, that caught the murder live, had gone viral on the internet.
The accused in the case were identified through the CCTV footage only, following which all the six were arrested by the cops.
The sentence
All the six accused have been found guilty under Sections 302, 120 B and 149 of the Indian Penal Code and were sentenced to life imprisonment and a fine of 5,000 to each one of them. Under Section 506 B, all the accused were sentenced to 2 years of imprisonment and 500 fine.
Tushar Dalal and Kunal Maske were also found guilty under Section 143 for which they were sentenced to 3 months of imprisonment. The state was represented by government pleader Adv Vijay Kolhe and additional government pleader Girish Dube.
