The Mumbai police’s rivalry with the crime branch regarding multiple murder accused Vijay Palande continues, even as his criminal record gets lengthier and more serious by the day.
According to police sources, the Amboli police went into overdrive as soon as it was decided to hand over the probe of the Karan Kakkar murder case to the crime branch on Friday. They raced against time before the official handover, which was slated for Saturday or Monday at the latest.
Palande was personally interrogated by deputy commissioner of police Pratap Dighavkar, resulting in the discovery of Kakkar’s BMW and subsequently his body. By taking Palande with them to locate the body, the Amboli police effectively delayed the handover, citing crucial developments in the case.
Mr Dighavkar, however, chose to take a diplomatic stand over the matter, saying, “Whether it is the city police or the crime branch, investigating a crime is always a team effort.”
Officials of the crime branch’s Unit 9, which officially took over the case on Sunday night, were already miffed on Friday about having little more to do than search for a dead body. However, after Kakkar’s body was found, the crime branch is now concentrating on delving into Palande’s background.
A fresh crime that has come to light against Palande relates to the Mercedes in which he took Anuj Tikku for a drive in on the night of his father Arunkumar’s murder. The police said Palande had befriended Hubli native Gurudutt Jairam and his friend Parag Kumar in 2008, and suggested to them to set up a yoga class for Bollywood celebrities, which would definitely do well.
“Palande purportedly told them that while approaching celebrities for membership, a car like a Mercedes would give an impression of affluence, after which the duo bought the Mercedes. Palande then threatened to kill both of them unless they gave up the car, and started using it himself. He subsequently registered it in the name of a friend from Vasai,” said Deven Bharti, additional commissioner of police, crime branch.
Meanwhile, crime branch sources have confirmed that along with Arunkumar Tikku, Palande had also planned to murder his son Anuj at a friend’s farmhouse in Chiplun. However, Anuj was abandoned on the highway after the plan went awry.