Crime Branch officials have arrested Prashant Parlewar, Director of Micro Small Medium Enterprises (MSME), for his involvement in the alleged contract killing of 82-year-old Nagpur businessman Purushottam Puttewar. They also arrested Payal Nageshwar, the personal assistant to the main suspect, Archana Manish Puttewar (53), who is the Assistant Director of the Town Planning Department in Gadchiroli. Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Nimit Goyal confirmed the arrests and said Prashant will be taken to court on Wednesday.

So far, police have arrested Archana, Neeraj Ishwar Nimje (30) from Shaktimata Nagar, Kharbi Road; Sachin Mohan Dharhik (29) from Bagadganj; and Sarthak Sahebrao Bagde (29) from Chaitanyaswar Nagar, Wathoda. With the recent arrests of Prashant and Payal, there are now six people accused in this case.

The police say the Parlewar family owns a 6,000 sq. ft. property in the Untkhana area, where Archana and Prashant wanted to build a shopping mall. However, Yogita, Archana’s sister-in-law and Purushottam’s daughter, took legal action to claim a share of the property. Suspecting Purushottam was helping Yogita, Archana and Prashant allegedly plotted to kill him. About six months ago, Prashant, with the help of Sachin, Neeraj, and Sarthak, planned the murder. Payal allegedly provided Rs 17 lakh in cash and jewellery to Sarthak, Sachin, and Neeraj. Prashant also reportedly promised to help Sachin get a beer bar license. After Sarthak’s arrest, Prashant and Payal became suspects.

Additionally, Sanket, an employee of Sachin, is also a suspect. Sachin, who owns a jewellery box factory, involved Sanket in the murder plot. On May 22, when Purushottam was hit and killed by a vehicle, Sanket was allegedly riding a motorcycle with another suspect. The police are now looking for Sanket.

The investigation has also found that Archana owns many properties and undisclosed wealth. Payal is believed to have managed Archana’s finances, raising suspicions about investing Archana’s illegal money through Sachin. The police plan to ask the Anti-Corruption Bureau to investigate Archana’s financial activities.