Mystery politician helped bookies fix cricket matches

Mumbai: A shocking revelation made by the accused Vijay Palande in the sensational Karan Kakkad murder case points to a mystery politician, who was liaising with the two in a match-fixing racket. According to anonymous police sources, the relationship shared by Kakkad and Palande turned sour when the two turned from being co-partners in the racket to competitors. The final nail in the coffin of the unholy nexus came when the unidentified politician started liaising directly with Kakkad, leaving Palande out of the loop and without the all-important share of the profits.

Crime Branch sources revealed that the three were players in a flourishing match-fixing racket, in which the neta played the crucial role of providing the capital, which Palande and Kakkad then invested to fix matches. Back in February, the unnamed neta had offered funds worth Rs 1.5 crore directly to Kakkad to fix a match, completely side-lining Palande. Kakkad's cut from this venture was a substantial Rs 88 lakh, which he kept in his Lokhandwala residence. Needless to say, this unexpected development invited the fury of Palande.

Soon, Kakkad was liaising directly with the politician, leaving an incensed Palande out in the cold. But not one to nurse his fury, Palande soon diverted his energies towards meticulously planning the murder of his friend-turned foe. Matters came to a head when the politician started making demands of his own, allegedly asking Kakkad to use his resources and find him the ready services of a girl, if he wanted to strike any more deals in future. Kakkad agreed and asked his friend Simrin Sud to provide her services. He was completely unaware that Simrin was the accomplice of Palande, and that she would provide details of all his dubious dealings to him.

Learning that Kakkad was reaping profitable dividends from an arrangement that he had helped set up, Palande flew into a rage, and forbade Simrin from offering herself as honey trap in a situation that wouldn't benefit him financially at all. Complying with his wishes, Simrin refused to act as bait for Kakkad's profit.

On March 6, Palande arranged for a meeting with Kakkad at a coffee shop in Lokhandwala on the pretext of discussing a deal. Simrin and Palande's other accomplice Ganesh Shinde too was present at the rendezvous, which started at 7 pm. Palande spiked Kakkad's cup of coffee. As soon as Kakkad started showing signs of disorientation, Palande allegedly ordered Simrin to leave. Crime Branch sources said they plan to interrogate Palande and Sud together to corroborate their statements.

Karan Kakkad's older brother Hanish believes that the body parts recovered by the Amboli police from Chiplun are not his brother's, and that Vijay Palande is misleading the cops.

"I will wait for the forensic tests that will determine the DNA of the recovered body parts. I feel my brother is still alive, and Palande has hidden him somewhere," said Hanish, an estate agent from Delhi. Hanish stated that Karan, who studied in Delhi, left for Mumbai in 2009 to further his career. Since they didn't have any relatives in Mumbai, he had to rent a flat at Oberoi Springs tower in Lokhandwala, Oshiwara. "I am positive that Karan was working in Bollywood, and was not a bookie, as stated by the cops," said Hanish. Distraught with the cops' account of Karan's murder, his mother said, "After hearing from the cops that Palande butchered my son in the bathroom, I haven't been able to enter it." Hanish and his mother had been staying at Karan's flat ever since they registered the kidnapping case with the cops.

Timeline
At 7.40 pm on March 6, Simrin left the cafe, leaving Shinde and Palande to their sinister devices. Having spiked his drink, they could feign that Kakkad had taken ill.

At 8.24 pm, Shinde and Palande assisted Kakkad to his Andheri apartment, and the brutal execution began

At 9.17 pm, when Kakkad's throat was slit. Till 4 am the next day, the two worked to dismember the body into four parts, stuffing two each into two bags that they found from the apartment. Palande also bagged the cash he had been 'denied' by Kakkad. He then drove out with the bags in Kakkad's BMW, leaving it parked at the forests near Aarey Colony. This was done so that no one would see another man drive out Kakkad's car, once day broke. Later that day, Palande walked to the Aarey Colony forests, and drove out the BMW for the wooded hills of Chiplun.

At about 8.10 am, he dispatched an SMS to Simrin, saying that the 'job was done.'