A 33-year-old, who had been imprisoned since 2018 for smashing the head of a security guard at a mango orchard with a stone, has been re-arrested by Mandvi police in Virar East for killing an elderly man in a similar manner. This time, he allegedly used an eight-kg cement block.

During the pandemic, the killer, Vinod Vasawat alias Kanda, was released on parole from Thane Central Jail. The recent murder took place on the night of May 24 and the cops learnt about the incident by 10 am the next day. Under the supervision of Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Ramchandra Deshmukh, three teams of police officers were formed to hunt for the killer. The deceased was identified as Bhiwa Vayda, 61, who would perform Jagran and other religious rituals in the village.