Sachin Kurmi murder case: Family likely to move court to seek CBI probe

MUMBAI: The family of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) functionary Sachin Kurmi, who was brutally killed in Byculla in October, is considering approaching the courts to seek the transfer of investigation to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) as they are not satisfied with the Mumbai police’s investigation so far.
The police have arrested three people in connection with the murder so far–Anand Kale, Vijay Kakade and Praful Patkar. The case was later transferred to the crime branch after Kurmi’s family met NCP chief and deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar and senior leader Chhagan Bhujbal.
However, Kurmi’s family members claim that they had given the names of four other people to the police who they believe had given the supari (contract) for Sachin’s murder to the killers. The family claimed that the police have not even questioned the four people as they are associated with another ruling political party. They also claimed that they were being stalked.
On October 5, Sachin Kurmi, a leader from the NCP’s Byculla division, was stabbed at least 20 times by three unknown assailants when he was out for a walk after dinner. Kurmi, also known as Munna, was rushed to JJ Hospital, where he was declared dead.
“We had given the names of four people, one associated with another ruling party and two of his aides, who had threatened Munna several times,” said Kurmi’s wife, Anupama. “Munna had even registered a non-cognizable complaint against them, but he didn’t register an FIR because they had apologised. The same people are now stalking our family members to keep a tab on our movements and threatening us not to follow up on the matter with the police.”
Kurmi’s brother, Mahesh Kurmi, revealed that the family had first approached the police to file a complaint against the four men in 2021 when they allegedly threatened Sachin over a financial dispute. “In our statements, we told the police that they demanded money from my brother. We had a dispute as I had borrowed money from one of them, and they started demanding more money. That’s when they picked up Munna in a car and threatened him. We had approached Kalachowkie and Byculla police against the four accused in 2021.”
Mahesh Kurmi claimed that one of the four men got himself admitted to a Pune-based hospital at the time of the murder, adding that he was the main suspect associated with a political party. “They gave a supari and got my brother killed in an area that is beside a mill where there are no CCTV cameras installed,” he said. “They knew Sachin went for a walk every day after dinner.”
He added, “The police had told us they wanted to add the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) to the case, but they are still sitting on it despite the fact that all the accused have criminal records. We have given them enough time, and there has been no development. This has compelled us to approach authorities like the courts to seek a CBI probe. We will soon do it.”
Responding to the allegations, a police officer confirmed that Kurmi’s family had given them the names of four more people, but said that the police haven’t been able to find evidence against them. “The present three accused have told us that since Munna had filed a complaint against them at the Dharavi and Antop Hill police stations and was trying to come in their way while recovering money from a contractor, they had decided to kill him. However, our investigations are still underway. We have not found the exact motive yet. We must file the charge sheet in the matter by January 5,” said the police officer.