Police on Sunday said they have arrested a 64-year-old man and his elder son for allegedly conspiring to murder the man’s younger son.
The incident was reported on April 15, when 24-year-old Shravan Barve was found dead in the compound of his house in Ambede in Sattari area in North Goa. Police said forensic investigation and the postmortem report concluded that he was strangled and death occurred due to “manual compression of upper neck”. Police said the absence of struggle marks suggested that the deceased was acquainted with the accused.
Investigators said a rope was found around the neck of the victim, in an alleged attempt by the accused to mislead the investigation. A case of murder was registered at Valpoi police station and an SIT was formed to probe the case.
Akshat Kaushal, SP North Goa, said initial efforts to gather evidence were challenging since the incident took place in a dark and isolated area. After questioning local residents, the police narrowed down the search to people seen near the crime scene on the night before the incident.
“A crucial breakthrough occurred when we found that a birthday party (of a local resident) was held near the crime spot on the night of the incident,” said SP Kaushal.
Police said the attendees at the party had watched an IPL cricket match late night. On questioning people who attended the party, police said several witnesses had reported seeing Shravan walking nearby during the event and the presence of an accused.
Based on interrogation, the prime suspect, Vasudev Ozekar (43), was arrested. Ozekar, who lives in the neighbourhood and had previously worked as a daily wager at the farm owned by the victim’s family, confessed to the crime. During interrogation, Ozekar revealed the names of two accomplices – the victim’s father Devidas Barve and Devidas’s elder son Uday Barve.
Story continues below this ad
Police said a temple near the spot where the birthday party took place was reportedly built by Barve’s family and Ozekar was previously appointed as a member of the temple committee.
“As per Vasudev’s statement, Devidas approached him on April 13 and hatched a conspiracy for the murder. Records show that Devidas had previously lodged multiple complaints against his younger son, wherein he accused him of physically assaulting him. Five non-cognisable complaints were lodged by the father against his son at Valpoi police station,” said SP Kaushal.
Police, however, said the motive for murder is still being ascertained. Police said the victim, who was unemployed, was estranged from the family and had been living separately for the past five years.
“The investigation is at a preliminary stage. It appears that the relations were strained between the deceased and his family. He had little contact with the family, apart from the fact that the victim’s father would often bring food,” said SP Kaushal.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd