Rajkot

Local court has issued arrest warrant against the President of Rajkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI) Samir Shah who is on run after brutal murder of employee of his Ramoti Mill in the city. Shah is also the president of Saurashtra Oil Mills Assocition, an organisation of owners of oil mills and traders in Saurashtra.

Dinesh Daxini, an employee of Shah’s oil mill- Shree Rajmoti Industries – allegedly fell down while he was being questioned in Bedipara police post late on Monday evening. He was rushed to PDU General Hospital in the city where he died during treatment at 11:18 pm on Monday.

Daxini’s brother-in-law, Ashok Thakkar, lodged a complaint with B Division police, stating that the victim was kidnapped from his Ahmedabad residence on Sunday and beaten to death in Rajkot.

Thakkar named Shah, Rajmoti Industries manager Samir Gandhi, police sub-inspector M C Maru and assistant sub-inspector (ASI) Yogesh Ramanlal Bhatt as accused. Based on this complaint, B Division police booked Shah, Gandhi and the two police officers under IPC Sections 302 (murder), 365 (kidnapping), 342 (wrongful restraint) and 120-b (criminal conspiracy).

According to the complaint, Daxini was manager of a branch of Rajmoti in Ahmedabad. On Sunday, some employees of the Rajkot-based oil mill picked him up from his residence in Jivraj Park area of Ahmedabad, saying he was summoned to Rajkot in connection with alleged irregularities to the tune of Rs 65 lakh in accounts. After being brought to Rajkot, he was allegedly confined in the mill and beaten up. Later, the accused approached Bedipara police post for filing a complaint against Daxini and handed him over to the PSI and the ASI.

However, according to the complaint, the victim managed to make a phone call to his wife on Monday evening and informed her that he was badly beaten up and pleaded her to try and rescue him.

A post-mortem at PDU General Hospital concluded that there were marks of injuries all over Daxini’s body and that the primary cause of death was injuries caused by blunt objects.

The FIR was lodged and the probe was assigned to assistant commissioner of police (ACP) of East Zone, Banno Joshi.

The FIR mentions that the crime was committed between Sunday and Monday and records Bedipara police post as the spot of crime. “We have lodged the FIR and investigation is at primary stage. Nobody has been arrested as yet,” Joshi said.

Rajmoti Industries manager Samir Gandhi was earlier sent to four-day police custody in this case.

Gandhi has reportedly confessed that he, along with another man had gone to Ahmedabad and brought Daxini to Rajkot on Sunday. Daxini was kept in a room in the compound of oil mill of Rajkmoti Industries on Bhavnagar road of the city for two days. Gandhi has also reportedly confessed that he had beaten up the victim before handing him over to Bedipara police post on Tuesday evening. Gandhi also confessed that he had brought Daxini to Rajkot in connection with, what he told us, alleged irregularities in accounts to the tune of around Rs65 lakh