Two murder accused get seven-day police remand

Kolhapur: Two accused, arrested for allegedly kidnapping and murdering a 40-year-old flower merchant, were remanded in seven-day police custody by a local court here on Wednesday.The deceased — Bharateshwar Rajgonda Topgonda, a resident of Danoli village — had been missing since Monday night and his body was found in a field on Tuesday morning.Two accused were arrested by the police after their voice was identified by the locals over the phone call made to seek a ransom of Rs25 lakh from Topgonda's family.According to the police, both the accused had consumed ganja and were planning to kidnap another person. "However, after their attempt failed, they decided to kidnap Topgonda who was on his way home. The villagers and relatives had decided not to carry out the last rites of the victim unless there was an assurance of strict action against perpetrators. The authorities intervened and the funeral was held around midnight on Tuesday," a police officer said."We presented both the accused — Rajdeep Ajay Tade (21) and Tillu alias Manthan Rajendra Chandure-Pawar — before the Jaysingpur court. The court granted us their custody till April 21," Amol Thakur, sub-divisional police officer, said while talking to TOI.Meanwhile, the villagers observed a bandh on Wednesday and held a silent march from the village to SDPO's office, before handing over the petition of the demands.The accused allegedly used electric battery to give shock to the merchant, to torture him. Also, it was found that the victim was strangled using a muffler. The two accused were staying in Danoli with their relatives and they are not residents of the village. Both have criminal backgrounds involving serious crime such as attempted murder.Former MP Raju Shetti visited the merchant's house and assured the family to follow up with the investigation and ensure justice.