Pune horse trainer murders man, chops body, sets pieces ablaze over unpaid dues

The Pune Police has arrested five people for allegedly murdering a man over unpaid dues on Tuesday.

The prime accused is Vikram Shekhar Pillai, who along with his four friends, hatched the plan to murder Vicky Ramesh Potan earlier this year.

The 25-year-old victim was brutally murdered in January. To avoid being detected, the accused chopped the body and set the pieces ablaze. They, in fact, thought that it would look like a bonfire in winter and nobody would suspect a foul play.

According to Pankaj Dahane, the Deputy commissioner of police (crime), Pillai had worked as a horse trainer in countries such as Malaysia and the United Kingdom. “He was earning good money there but recently, he left the job and he came to Pune where he started his own fast food joint," Dahane added.

According to the police, Potan, the victim, was known to Pillai and he had criminal background. Police officials said Potan would often visit Pillai's fast food joint where he would have food but he would not pay.

Senior police inspector Nitin Bhosale Patil, in charge of the Pune Police's crime branch unit I said, "Pillai was fed up with Potan and he hatched a plan of killing him with his other four friends. In the month of January this year, they called Potan for a drink and after he consumed alcohol they killed him."

Cops said that the five men killed Potan on BT Kawade road area near Mundhwa and set his body on fire. Bhosale Patil added that "It was a planned murder. After killing Potan, they chopped his body into pieces. They had also brought a five liters of petrol to set it on fire."

"They set the body parts on fire in a bushy area on the roadside. The body kept on burning for one-and-half day and all five accused were present near body till that time. Since it was a winter time, they projected as if they had set a bonfire so that no one would suspect them," he added.

Meanwhile, Potan's mother had registered a missing complaint with Mundhwa police. "Now since they have confessed of the murder, we will be handing them over to Mundhwa police who will be registering the case of murder against them," the official said.