Nagpur: In a major breakthrough, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Monday arrested a shooter involved in the murder case of the 70-year-old architect Eknath Dharmaji Nimgade who was shot dead near Agrasen Chowk petrol pump in Nagpur on September 6, 2016, media reports said.
According to reports, the accused has been identified as Baba alias Raja alias Mausin Ansari Badruddin Ansari (28), a resident of Chhindwara, Madhya Pradesh. He was arrested from Narsinghpur Jail of Madhya Pradesh on a production warrant. Raja, a ‘Supari Killer’ in the murder case, had fired shots at Nimgade, reports said.
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The CBI officials produced Raja before the Special CBI court and obtained his police custody remand. He was arrested by Nagpur in January 2021 too. Earlier, the Tehsil police were investigating the murder along with the Crime Branch. Nimgade’s son, Advocate Anupam had moved the High Court citing the city police’s lax approach to the murder probe. The High Court had then transferred the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in November 2016.
Following no clue in the case, the Mumbai-based Special Crime Branch Unit of CBI had announced a reward of Rs 5 lakh to the person who would provide confirmed information about the person(s) involved in the sensational murder case. In March 2021, Commissioner of Police (CP) Amitesh Kumar announced, at a press conference, that the case was solved on the basis of criminal intelligence gathered by the Crime Branch.
According to reports, the Nagpur-based goons were eyeing on the prime property of Nimgade worth more than Rs 200 crore. Notorious goon Ranjit Safelkar received the contract and roped in another goon Sharad alias Kalu Hate in the crime. The two contacted another goon Nawab alias Chhote Sahab Ashrafi alias Nubbu and fixed the contract at Rs 5 crore, the CP had told reporters. The Commissioner of Police also informed that Kalu Hate had given Rs 1.20 crore in two instalments to Nubbu in July, 2016. When Nubbu was unable to kill Nimgade, Hate called him for a meeting and beat him up. Nubbu then aggressively built up his team calling shooter Raja, Parwez, a resident of Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh and one Baba from Uttar Pradesh.
The reports further said that nine others were also part of the conspiracy. Before killing Nimgade, Nubbu had done recce of Nimgade’s daily routine and told the shooters. A photograph of Nimgade was also given to them. On September 6, 2016, a total of nine criminals including shooters Raja, Parwez and Baba were deployed on the route of Nimgade from Jai Bhim Chowk to Agrasen Chowk.
The three shooters were on two motorcycles covering their faces. Nimgade was returning home on a TVS Scooty (MH-31/ U-269) after a morning walk when the shooters accosted him in the lane near a petrol pump. One of them had diverted the attention of Nimgade by involving him in a discussion for a couple of minutes. The shooter came to the spot and fired eight rounds at Nimgade from point-blank range at him. Four bullets had hit Nimgade’s hand and one pierced his body. The assailants then sped away on their two-wheelers. Doctors had declared Nimgade brought dead on arrival at the hospital.
