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Body discovered in a pool of blood in Dharavi; cash and gold on his person intact but two mobile phones are missing; cops suspect victim knew the assailants

Vasantlal Jotha never went to office on Sundays, but he made an exception on February 19. The next morning, a female clerk at the establishment found his body in a pool of blood.  Cops say that he was murdered between 10 and 11 pm on Sunday night.


Shrouded in mystery: Police officials with the body of 52-year-old
Vasantlal Jotha (below) outside his Dharavi office.

Apart from being in the food grains business, 52-year-old Jotha was also an active BJP worker. The Matunga resident assisted elder brother Prakash at the Dharavi Grain Dealers Association.

No robbery
Interestingly, the assailants left the significant amount of money in the office cabin and the gold jewellery Jotha was wearing untouched. However, two of his mobile phones are missing. Cops suspect the victim knew the murderers and they had called him for a meeting to his office on Sunday. They have taken his cellphones ” probably containing their details and call records ” to escape apprehension, police said.

An officer from Dharavi police station said, "Jotha grappled fiercely with the assailants before his death. There are several injury marks on his body. A clear picture will emerge only after the post-mortem reports are out." A police source said three people have been detained till now, all local shopkeepers.

No clear motive
Jotha worked for the BJP in Matunga. He and his brother had an office in Priyadarshani building at Mukund Nagar, Dharavi, for their food grains business. On Sunday, he left home on his two-wheeler. By the evening, his family members had tried reaching him on both his mobile phones, but they discovered that both phones were switched off. They kept searching for him the entire night. On Monday morning, Dipti, a clerk working at the Dharavi office, entered it to find blood flowing out of Jotha's cabin. On opening the door, she found the victim's body. She immediately informed his family members and the police. 


Mumbai mayor Shraddha Jadhav and some BJP workers at the spot.
Pics/Jitendra Mallah

 "We have registered a case of murder against unknown people. We have taken the two-wheeler into custody. We are investigating the case from all angles and hope to solve it soon," said Dhananjay Kulkarni, DCP, Zone V.