Man murders cousin in Kalyan over property dispute

The victim, Ranjit Dubey.

A man was allegedly murdered by his cousin in the Kolsewadi area of Kalyan (East) in Thane district on Wednesday night.

According to Kolsewadi Police under the Thane Police Commissionerate, the victim has been identified as Ranjit Dubey. He and his cousin, Ram Sagar Dubey, are natives of Uttar Pradesh (UP), and had been residing in Kalyan for the past several years.

"The man and his cousin had an ongoing dispute over a piece of land in Jaunpur, UP. A case related to the disputed property is pending, and both have a criminal history in UP. They were previously arrested by the UP Police and had served jail time," a police officer said.

During the panchnama, eyewitnesses informed the police that around 11.30 pm, Ram Sagar had visited Ranjit. Within minutes, their conversation turned into an argument over the land dispute. The exchange led to verbal abuse, after which Ram Sagar allegedly fired a shot at Ranjit, aiming at his head. He then pulled out a knife from his pocket and stabbed the victim at least eight times, the police said.

The police reached the spot and arrested the accused in the early hours of Thursday. A case of murder has been registered against Ram Sagar.