Panaji: The main accused in the Anand Patil murder case, Sourabh Narulkar, held a grudge against Patil over the alleged theft of his gold bracelet in January this year, Superintendent of Police (SP) Vishwesh Karpe said.
The bracelet was traced and recovered; however, no FIR was registered as Narulkar did not wish to pursue the case, said Karpe, who holds the charge of DySP, Porvorim.
Patil was allegedly assaulted by four accused persons on June 18 at Socorro. He succumbed to his injuries while undergoing treatment at Goa Medical College (GMC), Bambolim, on June 28. Police first arrested Pranav Borkar (28), Arjun Paryekar (18) and Anish Borcar (21), all residents of Chimbel, while the main accused, Narulkar, was arrested on June 28.
Addressing a press conference in Porvorim, Karpe said that on January 1, Narulkar was sleeping in his car after attending a party. The car windows were open.
“At that time, Patil allegedly removed the gold bracelet, which was seen by one of Narulkar’s friends,” said Karpe. Based on this, Narulkar lodged a complaint. During the inquiry, it was found that Patil had sold the bracelet to a jewellery shop in Mapusa, Karpe said. The jewellery was recovered, but Narulkar chose not to pursue the case and, therefore, no FIR was registered.
“Both were residing in the same locality in Socorro and whenever they met, there were heated arguments between them,” said Karpe. He added that Patil had one case of alleged motorcycle theft registered at Porvorim Police Station, while Narulkar has three criminal cases registered at Panaji Police Station.
Karpe said police received information on June 20 that Patil had been admitted to GMC as a case of assault. However, upon visiting the hospital, police were informed that he had been admitted as a self-accident case. During the inquiry, it was revealed that he had been assaulted by four persons on June 18.
On June 21, based on a complaint filed by Ankush Sharma (24), a resident of Aradi, Socorro, police registered a case alleging that Narulkar and three others abused, threatened and assaulted Patil with fists and kicks on his face, head and other parts of his body, causing serious injuries. The accused also allegedly threatened Sharma with dire consequences, police said.
