Police crack Valpoi murder case by retracing steps of birthday party guest

Panaji:Goa police found the clue to the murder of a Sattari man, who had been estranged from his family, at a birthday party held close to the scene of the killing.

One of the party’s attendees was a daily wage worker, Vasudev Nakul Ozrekar, 43, who was the first suspect arrested for the murder of Shravan Barve, 24. The time of the murder and Ozrekar’s departure from the celebration coincided, making police zero in on Ozrekar.
Goa police are likely to arrest more people in the case. “Because the birthday party happened a stone’s throw away from the scene of the crime, and the party took place around the time of the death, it was necessary to question the attendees,” North Goa SP Akshat Kaushal said.
“Some of them said they saw Shravan walking on the road. We are trying to find out from them who else was walking at the time.”
On Friday, around 18 persons from Valpoi who attended the party were questioned by police in connection with the murder. Some of them told police about Ozrekar leaving the party.
“I will not rule out the possibility of more arrests,” Kaushal said. The preliminary investigation has provided substantial grounds to suspect the involvement of more than one person in the crime. Kaushal said the absence of a struggle indicates that Shravan knew the assailant.
Goa police on Saturday arrested three persons, including Shravan’s father, Devidas, 64; his elder brother, Uday, 34; and Ozrekar.
Kaushal said that according to Ozrekar’s statement, Devidas approached him on April 13 and hatched the conspiracy. “Crime records of the Valpoi police station show that on multiple occasions, complaints were filed by Devidas against his son, Shravan,” Kaushal said. “In one complaint, Devidas accused his son of assaulting him. We have found five non-cognisable complaints registered at the Valpoi police station against Shravan, and he had even been arrested previously.”
Kaushal added, “At this stage, I would not like to reveal the exact motive, but what we have gathered from the investigation is that there was an uncomfortable relationship between Shravan and the rest of his family members.”
For almost five years, Shravan had lived separately and had very little contact with his family, Kaushal said. He said police suspect a financial angle in the case.
DySP Jivba Dalvi said that Shravan’s father and brother have been remanded in one-day police custody.