Teen patti game ends in 43-year-old’s murder in Gujarat, 6 held

NAVSARI: The local crime branch (LCB) of Navsari police arrested six men for allegedly murdering a 43-year-old man at a farm in Ganesh Sisodra village on Saturday night after accusing him of cheating during a gambling session.

Police said the victim was tied and hung upside down from a tree and beaten with pipes, belts and ropes.

He had come to Navsari to gamble on an invitation. The accused were arrested on the Ahmedabad–Vadodara expressway while trying to flee towards Saurashtra.

According to the FIR, filed by Mohammad Nayyar Gulam Mishal, 65, a Vasai resident, he and the victim, Dilsher Mallu Khan, 43, from Aligarh, came to Navsari to play teen patti, also known as flush. While in Nandurbar, they had received a call from Valsad resident Parvez Multani, who invited them to the gambling sesssion, sent Rs 3,000 for travel expenses and shared the location.

In Navsari, Multani arranged a vehicle and took them to a farm in Ganesh Sisodra village, where he introduced them to the accused — Manthan Borad, 26, Bhautik Prajapati, 26, Ashok Halpati, 39, Jignesh Patel, 39, Pratik Halpati, 25, and Kevin Patel, 25 — before leaving. The eight then began playing cards.

Police said Dilsher was winning consistently, prompting Ashok Halpati to accuse him of cheating. He allegedly instigated the others, who assaulted Dilsher and Mishal.

They alleged tied Dilsher upside down from a tree and kept beating him. Mishal pleaded for mercy and offered to return the money. During the assault, Bhautik Prajapati transferred Rs 30,000 from Mishal's phone to another account, while one of the accused also transferred money from Dilsher's phone.

As Dilsher's condition worsened, Pratik Halpati took both men on his moped towards the road. They were later put into a car and dropped near Fun City Hotel, after which the accused fled. Mishal called the 108 service and rushed Dilsher to a private hospital, from where he was shifted to Navsari Civil Hospital. Mishal was also treated for his injuries.

Mishal later contacted Multani, who asked them to come to Valsad and sent a private vehicle. After leaving Navsari Civil Hospital, they were taken to VIMS Hospital in Valsad, where doctors declared Dilsher dead on Sunday morning.

LCB inspector V J Jadeja said, "After the complaint was registered, our team under inspector S V Ahir and PSI Y G Gadhvi began the investigation to nab the accused. As three of the accused have a criminal history, we did not want to take any chances. Based on human and technical surveillance, we arrested them from the Ahmedabad–Vadodara expressway before they reached Saurashtra. Bhautik, Ashok and Pratik together have six criminal cases registered against them in Navsari and Surat."