Nagpur: Three assailants gagged 60-year-old divyang bootlegger Sahesram Kewat with a pillow and mosquito net and fled with Rs25,000 in cash from his hutment in Waddhamna’s Suraburdi slum shortly after midnight on Sunday.Kewat lost his right leg to gangrene years ago and lived alone after his wife moved out following a domestic dispute. Kewat was dependent on govt disability pension and small-time bootlegging for a livelihood.Police said, the three criminals Vilas Chaudhuri, Praveen Chauhan and Jitendra Waghade, allegedly entered his hut, demanding liquor credit, which Kewat refused, who also refused their demand to give money. Furious, the three gagged Kewat with a pillow and thrashed him mercilessly. They punched him repeatedly on the face and hit him with a hammer, breaking his front teeth.After killing Kewat, the trio opened the liquor bottles, sat down beside his body and drank heavily. Sources said the trio is also addicted to MD narcotics. Neighbours heard the commotion and rushed out. Two women quickly alerted his daughter Seema Sarwa and son-in-law Ramu. When the family reached the spot, they found the horrific scene.As Vilas stepped out, angry locals caught and started beating him. In the scuffle, Vilas pushed Seema, who was holding her five-month-old baby. Both mother and child fell and suffered minor injuries.The other two accused then emerged from the hut, thrashed everyone present and escaped. Sources said the accused had been involved in thefts and burglaries for liquor and twice fought with Kewat.Vilas managed to slip away and hid inside a nearby under-construction building where he was found sleeping. Wadi police arrived with heavy force, arrested Vilas from the construction site and registered a murder case against all three. Pravin Chauhan and Jitendra Waghade are still absconding.Wadi police have launched a search for the two fugitives and appealed for public help.
