Stockbroker Gautam Vora was arrested by crime branch sleuths on Monday for helping murder accused Vijay Palande flee to Bangkok when he had escaped from police custody on April 11. The police said that Vora had checked into a hotel in south Mumbai where he had given Palande some clothes, and had later arranged for a ticket to Bangkok that was to be delivered to Palande by one of Vora’s men. Meanwhile, the police has suspended a crime branch inspector and constable who had tried to influence the Amboli police by asking them to go easy on him when Palande was called in for questioning in Karan Kakkar’s case.
“Vora met Palande at around 9.30 pm in room number 301 of Hotel Godwin in Marine Lines. At the time of entering the hotel, Palande acted as though he was Vora’s servant. Vora had booked the room after Palande made a distress call to him that he had fled from police custody,” said a senior crime branch officer.
According to the officer, Vora spent some time in the hotel and left. “The two planned that Palande should leave the country and go to Bangkok where one can get a visa on arrival. Vora was to arrange for Palande’s ticket and hand it to him at the airport,” said the officer.
Another senior officer said that they were baffled as to why a stockbroker of his standing would take the risk to help a murder accused on the run. “Vora did not know that Palande was married to Simrin Sood with whom Vora was having an affair. We are now figuring why Vora went out of his way to help Palande and whether Sood told Vora to help him,” said the officer.
Vora was produced before court that remanded him to police custody till April 27.
Meanwhile, both Sanjay Shinde and Amol Deshpande were suspended on April 23. “ACP Arvind Mahabadi had been asked to head the departmental inquiry against the two who were accused of shielding Palande. The inquiry into Palande’s escape form the police vehicle is still underway,” said the officer.