Pune:
It was the post-mortem report that gave the police a clue on how 34-year-old Nana Deshmukh alias Ravindra, whose body was discovered beside a canal, met his violent end.
The Crime Branch arrested seven suspects on Tuesday after investigations revealed that Deshmukh was murdered because he had demanded sexual favours from one of them.
Deshmukh, a resident of Dhankawadi, was found murdered near a canal behind the Anand Park society on Shankarshet Road on December 4. The police found severe wounds on his head and other parts of his body.
The post-mortem report revealed that he had been sodomised before his murder.
Deshmukh was a small-time real estate agent. He was married, but his wife had left him owing to his homosexuality.
The police were initially flummoxed as they could not find any direct motive behind his murder. Police Inspector Suresh Kekane of Crime Branch Unit II said, "It was a difficult case to crack. Deshmukh was not a history-sheeter. And he did not have any rivals. Also, none of his valuables were robbed. We were not getting any clues about the motive behind his murder. We got information about Deshmukh's relations with Arif alias Saddam Shaikh from our sources, which led to the breakthrough."
The arrested suspects were identified as Arif alias Saddam Shaikh (20), Rafiq Afjal Shaikh (19), Tausif Musa Mankar (19), Sadiq Rashid Ansari (19), Wasim alias Basi Afjal Sayyad (19), Zuber Kureshi (20) and Mehtab Shaikh (19), all residents of Kashewadi, Bhavani Peth. They were produced before a court yesterday and remanded in police custody till December 13.
"Deshmukh had first met Sadiq Ansari at a cinema hall about three months ago. Sadiq introduced him to his friend Arif. Deshmukh developed a friendship with Arif and thereafter repeatedly kept calling him for sex. Arif was mentally disturbed because of these calls," Kekane said.
"On December 3, Deshmukh again called Arif when the latter was consuming liquor with Sadiq and two other friends. They got annoyed with Deshmukh's persistent calls. They went to the canal behind Anand Park society where Deshmukh had called Asif. They then sexually assaulted him and killed him with a sharp weapon."