Six Bondawala gang members arrested for Fernandes murder

A day after 28-year-old John Fernandes was stabbed to death in broad daylight in Wadala police have arrested six men of the Bondawala gang. Business rivalry was pinned as motive.

Fernandes, a historysheeter externed more than once from the city earlier, was found murdered on Monday afternoon and the six were rounded up after police got a tip-off they were involved.

Police said the arrested, Kannan Kounder, Pandu Kounder, Chakravarthy Kounder, Arvind Chaurasia, Ranjeet Kumar Mishra and Gurmeet Dilkhush had a business rivalry with Fernandes and had entered into skirmishes with him on earlier occasions too.

"The accused belong to the Bondawala gang which steals and sells electricity and water and Fernandes was a business rival. There have been skirmishes between the gang and Fernandes earlier," said senior police inspector Nagesh Jadhav of Wadala TT police station.

After Fernandes was stabbed to death in Vijay Nagar slum in Wadala, police initiated inquiries and on Tuesday morning received a tip-off about involvement of the six suspects and picked them up.

They were subsequently arrested and booked under section 302 (murder) and section 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code.

"They have been remanded in police custody for six days," Jadhav added.

After stabbing Fernandes in the chest and abdomen in a slum in Antop Hill, his assailants had fled. Fernandes was rushed to Sion Hospital, where he was declared dead on arrival, the police said.

Police said Fernandes was a history-sheeter who had been externed from the city more than once.

His brother Alexander was found dead in Antop Hill five months ago and had reportedly been electrocuted. Alexander's family had suspected foul play and police are still investigating Alexander's death. Alexander's wife had subsequently hanged herself in her residence.

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