One more held for Surat triple murder; key accused absconding

Surat, May 16: A woman was arrested in connection with a triple murder case, where one of the victims was a relative of VHP leader Pravin Togadia, taking the number of those behind bar to four even as the main accused and three others remained at large, police said today.

The woman, Komal Goyani, is the sister of main accused Gautam aka Golden Goyani, whose father, too, is wanted in the case, they said.

"We arrested Komal from her house at Kamrej near here late on Sunday night and are looking out for four others, including the main accused Golden," Varachha Police Inspector C K Patel said.

Balu Hirani, one of the three victims, owed Rs 50 lakh to Komal in connection with a deal over a disputed land in Amreli district's Bagasara village. Hirani had been delaying the payment, the probable reason for the murders, he said.

Police had yesterday arrested Mehul Bharwad, Lalu Bharwad and Imran in the case. "Komal dabbled in politics and had contested taluka-level election from Kamrej in Surat district on Congress ticket but was defeated. She was involved in settling land disputes and had recently helped Balu in clearing a land deal," Patel said.

The other absconding accused are Kishan Khokhar, Bhadresh Patodiya and Golden's father Ganesh. The car and weapons used in the murders have not been recovered yet, police said. Besides Hirani, the other deceased were his friends Ashok Patel and Bharat Togadia, a relative of Pravin Togadia.

The trio was attacked in Hirani's office in Varachha locality here on Saturday night by assailants armed with knives and other sharp-edged weapons. Patel said Balu came in contact with Komal through her father Ganesh.

PTI