Khaparkheda police, led by Kanhan SDPO Sudarshan Gaikwad, have arrested three more suspects in the murder of gram panchayat member Atul Patil, who was fatally stabbed last week in Pipla Dak Bungalow. The newly apprehended—Chetan Talmale, Rajat Wat, and Hitesh Dhage—bring the total arrests in the case to five. Earlier arrests include sarpanch Vishnu Kokadde and alleged stabber Himanshu Kumbhalkar.
Given the case’s sensitive political nature, Superintendent of Police Harssh Poddar assigned an SDPO-rank officer to lead the investigation. Sources reveal that Patil, a close associate of BJP leaders, was a key rival of Congress-backed Kokadde and aspiring gram panchayat member Talmale, who was preparing for the upcoming zilla parishad elections.
Patil had exposed an alleged scam involving Kokadde, leading to forgery and fraud charges against the sarpanch. Investigators believe the murder was fueled by political tensions stemming from Patil’s whistleblowing and rivalry with Kokadde and Talmale.
Gaikwad’s team continues to probe the newly arrested suspects’ roles, believed to have conspired in the murder. Police are intensifying efforts to uncover further evidence and possible accomplices, highlighting deep political fault lines in Pipla Dak Bungalow.
