Surat: Sleuths of the Valsad local crime branch on Monday arrested an Army jawan, Pankaj Kumar Shah (34), for his alleged involvement in the Jan 2020 double murder at Chanod Colony in Vapi town of Valsad district.Shah allegedly shot two women dead with a pistol, at the home of one of them, as part of a Rs 2.5 lakh contract killing deal.Police had earlier arrested Bipin Mahanto, the son of one of the victims, his friend Kundan Giri, and Shah’s accomplice, Mukesh Singh.Shah had been on the run ever since the crime and kept moving about, investigators said. He was finally caught at a hotel near Cheethwari in Rajasthan. Police said he kept moving between Greater Noida and Rajasthan.On Jan 11, 2020, a brutal double murder unfolded. Rekha Brahmdev Mahanto and her friend Anita alias Durga Shekhar Khadse were fatally shot by assailants on a red motorcycle without a registration number.The investigation revealed a conspiracy allegedly orchestrated by Bipin Mahanto, Rekha’s own son. Suspecting that his mother was having an extramarital affair, Bipin allegedly plotted her murder. He enlisted his friend, Kundan Giri, to arrange a shooter. Giri involved Shah, who allegedly agreed to carry out the killing for Rs 2.5 lakh. Shah first scouted around in Vapi in 2019 before returning to execute the killing.Shah roped in Singh, a resident of Bihar, to help in the crime. In Jan 2020, they came to Vapi, where Bipin Mahanto arranged a motorcycle for them. On the day of the killing, Giri, Shah and Singh went to the spot on a motorcycle.Giri got off at KBS Colony and kept watch. Shah and Singh proceeded to Mahanto’s residence, where Singh waited outside while Shah went in with a pistol. Shah shot Mahanto and when Khadse emerged on hearing the gunshots, he shot her as well.The trio fled the scene on the motorcycle. The other three accused had been caught earlier while Shah remained at large.The investigation revealed that Shah was posted as a craftsman with 119 FWC 135 Brigade at Manjakote in Jammu and Kashmir. He has been a working member of the 606 Electronics and Mechanical Engineering (EME) battalion based in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, for 15 years.
