Man, 40, shot dead in Kurla; cousin accused, second brother in family killed in seven months

A 40-year-old man was shot dead in Mumbai's Kurla area on the afternoon of November 11. The killing took place at Makdawala Compound, and the victim's cousin is the accused. After the incident, family members gathered outside VB Nagar police station and protested, demanding an encounter of the accused.

The deceased has been identified as Vinod Mallappa Pawar. He was allegedly heading towards the toilet at around 12.40 pm when his cousin Aniket Pawar followed him, fired two rounds from close range and fled. Vinod leaves behind two young children.

The killing has brought back earlier violence in the family. Vinod's brother Baba Mallappa Pawar, 39, was also shot dead in Kurla on April 29. Two brothers of the same family have thus been shot dead within seven months.

According to police, Baba was returning from a family function and riding home on a motorcycle with a friend when three men allegedly stopped him. One attacker fired a shot, while the others attacked him with sharp weapons. Three accused were arrested in that case later.

Preliminary investigation into Vinod's killing has found that Vinod and Aniket had earlier family disputes. Police are examining whether the murder was the result of old enmity between the two, and whether it is linked to earlier violent incidents involving the family.

Police are recreating the scene at Makdawala Compound. VB Nagar police and forensic teams recovered a live cartridge and a spent cartridge casing from the spot. Police said these could belong to a suspected country-made pistol. Investigating officers are also questioning family members to understand the dispute and to find out whether anyone helped the accused obtain the weapon or flee after the crime. Baba Pawar's killing is also being probed to establish whether the two murders are connected.

A police officer said, "There were three accused in the Baba Pawar murder case: Abhijit Jadhav, Dinesh Vinay Pawar and Shubham Ghadge. That case was linked to an attack on Baba's nephew Shekhar Pawar. None of them has any role in this case, so we are not linking Baba's murder to Vinod's. But we are examining every possibility and every motive."