31 January,2025 09:18 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Representational Pic/File
The body of a Shiv Sena leader missing since January 20 from Dahanu in Palghar district of Maharashtra was on Friday found in an abandoned car in neighbouring Gujarat, a police official said, reported the PTI.
Shiv Sena leader Ashok Dhodi went missing from Gholwad on January 20, after which a case was registered on the complaint of his kin, he said.
The police had formed eight teams to trace the local Shiv Sena functionary Ashok Dhodi.
Dhodi, was ruling Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena's Dahanu assembly constituency coordinator.
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Initial probe had suggested that Dhodi's disappearance could be linked to a property-related dispute within his family and the police had been investigating the matter in that angle, an official had earlier said.
Dhodi was last seen traveling from Gholwad to Dahanu, a distance of around 15 km, on January 20, the police had earlier stated.
His body was found in an abandoned car in a shut quarry in Bhilad in Gujarat's Valsad district on Friday afternoon, the official said, according to the PTI.
A thorough probe is underway in the case and all accused will be arrested quickly, Superintendent of Police Balasaheb Patil said.
The deceased's son Akash Dhodi sought death penalty for the killers and also urged the government to take action against police personnel who had "failed to do their duty", as per the PTI.
On Thursday, Akash and his mother had accused the deceased's brother of having a hand in the disappearance.
"The police have not been serious about this case. Both brothers frequently fought and my husband was threatened regularly. There was even an attempt to kill him in a car accident. His brother is part of the liquor mafia," the deceased's wife had told reporters on Thursday, the news agency reported.
"He should be arrested immediately. My father had complained several times about illegal activities connected to liquor. There are cases against the main accused in Gujarat," Akash had alleged a day earlier.
On Thursday, SP Patil had said four persons were arrested in the case and had been remanded in 7-day police custody by a Dahanu court.
