Man held for killing friend over professional rivalry in Palghar

Thane, May 25 (PTI) A 26-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly bludgeoning his friend to death over professional rivalry in Maharashtra’s Palghar district, police said on Saturday.

The police had found the body of a man in a highly decomposed state in a nullah earlier this month, and following a probe, the deceased was identified as Santosh Yadav, an agent supplying junior artists, senior inspector Jitendra Vankoti of Pelhar police station said.

The victim worked at a studio in Navi Mumbai, he said.

A post-mortem revealed that the victim had died of head injuries, and a murder case was registered, the official said.

During the investigation, Yadav’s girlfriend informed the police that she had last seen him with two friends, who also worked in the same field, he said.

The police then zeroed in on the accused, Sunny Sunil Singh and Rahul Sohan Pal, and apprehended the former on May 14, he said, adding a search is on for the other accused.

The accused lost a big contract to the victim and were angry, the official said.

The duo allegedly invited Yadav for drinks on May 7, took him to a bridge at Nalla Sopara and bludgeoned him to death with a stone, he said.