Arrested stockbroker Gautam Vora has told interrogators that he was actually helping Simrin Sood, his girlfriend, whose “brother” Vijay Palande was in trouble, by arranging his escape. The police said the couple had made over 1,700 calls to each other ever since they entered into a relationship. Vora also chose the Godwin Hotel to hide Palande as he was a regular there and thought no one would suspect him. The police is now investigating if Vora was also aware of the murder and whether he was part of the conspiracy. Meanwhile, Simrin will be booked for murder and conspiracy.
“Vora has said that he was indeed helping his girlfriend’s brother who was in distress after escaping police custody. From their call records, we found the couple had exchanged more than 1,700 phone calls in the last few months. Vora frequented the Godwin Hotel in Marine Lines with his girlfriends and therefore chose to hide Palande there and booked the room under his own name as he wouldn’t be suspected, being a regular,” said a senior crime branch officer.
The officer said that Palande called up Sood’s sister, who stays in Borivali, from Vora’s cellphone and requested her to bring his passport to the airport. “The sister refused and told him to surrender to the police,” said the officer, adding, “Palande then decided to go to Borivali late at night to collect his passport.”
So far, the police hasn’t given a clean chit to three key persons — Sood, Vora and inspector Sanjay Shinde — in the murders of Arunkumar Tikku and Karan Kakkar. “We are now investigating whether Sood and Vora were aware of Palande’s murder plans and whether they were also part of the conspiracy. We are also investigating Shinde, who has been suspended for dereliction of duty,” he said.
Meanwhile, Palande has told the police that he killed Kakkar as he was frustrated with him. “Palande said that Kakkar had first told him he had a lot of money, but then started asking for money from him. Palande also came to know that
Kakkar had lost `42 lakh by betting on IPL matches. Palande has said that Kakkar was becoming a liability and so decided to bump him off,” the officer said.