Five persons, wanted for the murder of a local Shiv Sena leader in suburban Malad last night, were today arrested, police said.
A local Shiv Sena leader Ramesh Jadhav from suburban Malad was allegedly stabbed to death with sharp weapons outside his residence last night by the attackers after he intervened and tried to stop them from fighting with another group.
"All the five accused, who stayed in the same locality, were tracked down from their hideouts and arrested today," Additional Police Commissioner (North Region) Kishore Jadhav said.
The officer refused to divulge the names of the accused, citing a Maharashtra government circular restraining the police from disclosing to the media the identity and photograph of an accused during the probe. The circular was issued following a Bombay High Court order.
According to Dindoshi police, Jadhav, who owned an imitation jewellery business and a resident of Gangaram Chawl at Kot Dongri, had tried to mediate and calm down the clashing groups over a trivial local issue last evening.
"This enraged the accused group members, who attacked Jadhav with sharp objects. Subsequently, they fled from the scene. The victim succumbed to injuries en route to a civic hospital," Jadhav said.
Tension prevailed in Malad and Dindoshi areas after the murder as scores of Sena workers held demonstrations demanding immediate arrest of the accused.
A number of police teams were formed and the accused were tracked down during frantic search overnight, Jadhav said adding that further probe was on.
