Dombivli man surrenders, confesses to killing friend; landlord arrested for helping hide body

A murder in the Mothagaon area of Dombivli West has been solved, the police said. A man killed his friend during a quarrel while drunk and hid the body to destroy evidence, they said. The case came to light after the accused himself went to the police and confessed.

The victim has been identified as Vishal Kadam, and the main accused as Prabhu Karkade. Vishnunagar police have arrested both Karkade and Sandeep Mhatre, the landlord who helped hide the body.

According to the police, Kadam and Karkade had sat down together to drink in a house in the Mothagaon area. While they were drinking, the two got into a heated argument over some trivial matter. The quarrel escalated so far that Karkade killed Kadam in a fit of rage, the police said.

Karkade panicked when he realised he had killed Kadam. He told the landlord, Mhatre, everything. Mhatre then told him, "You are not even married yet, your life will be ruined," and advised him not to reveal the crime to anyone, the police said.

The two then put Kadam's body in a sack with the aim of destroying evidence, and took it to a deserted spot on the creek bank and dumped it, the police said.

The police had no inkling of the incident, and the crime might never have come to light. But for 20 days after the murder, Karkade could not sleep soundly. His dead friend Kadam kept appearing in his dreams, and he came under mental stress. Tired of the constant torment, he finally approached the crime branch police.

After reaching the police, he narrated the whole sequence of events and confessed to the murder. The crime branch acted immediately, took Karkade into custody and handed him over to Vishnunagar police for further legal action.

Vishnunagar police have registered a case of murder. Both the main accused, Karkade, and the landlord, Mhatre, who helped hide the body, have been arrested. The murder, committed under the influence of alcohol, has caused a stir in the Dombivli area.