THANE: The Thane Crime Branch has solved a 12-year-old murder case, arresting a construction contractor and social media “reel star”, Surendra Patil, for allegedly abducting and killing a Dombivli resident over a property dispute in 2014.
Police said the accused later dumped the victim’s body in a forested area near Murbad.
According to investigators, the victim, Karan Bagul, owned around 10 guntha of land in Dombivli and had entered into a redevelopment agreement with Patil in 2014. A dispute reportedly emerged over the project, following which Bagul was allegedly abducted on October 4, 2014.
Police alleged that Bagul was taken to Patil’s office in Dawdi, where he was assaulted with an iron rod and killed.
Investigators further claimed that Patil enlisted the help of two workers — Chandrakant Gaykar (39) and Suresh Degawat (32) — to dispose of the body in a remote forest area in Murbad.
The victim’s face had reportedly been badly disfigured, making identification difficult when the body was discovered by Murbad police after locals alerted authorities. With no immediate leads, the case was initially registered as an accidental death.
Meanwhile, Bagul continued to remain listed as a missing person in Manpada police records for years.
The breakthrough came after Patil’s recent arrest in an arms-related case prompted investigators to revisit the old files, eventually helping them establish the identity of the victim and uncover the alleged conspiracy behind the murder.
Amar Sinh Jadhav, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime), said the iron rod allegedly used in the assault has been recovered. All three accused have been remanded to police custody till May 2.
Police also said Patil is a habitual offender with several serious criminal cases registered against him across Thane district.
Patil had recently made headlines after a midnight police raid at his Dawdi residence uncovered a large cache of illegal weapons allegedly hidden inside a concealed compartment in a shoe rack at his home.
