Ex BJP MLA held for allegedly murdering party leader

The Gujarat CID (crime) on Thursday arrested Chhabil Patel, an ex MLA and suspended BJP leader, in connection with a murder case of controversial ex-BJP MLA Jayanti Bhanushali. Chhabil Patel was caught by CID officials from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in the city early morning.

Officials said that Patel landed at Ahmedabad airport from Dubai and was detained there. Director General of Police (CID) Ashish Bhatia confirmed that Patel has been arrested by the special investigation (SIT) of CID, which is probing the case. Patel is alleged to have given Rs30 lakh to two sharp shooters to kill Bhanushali.

The motive behind killing Bhanushali is said to be poitical rivalry between the two leaders.

Bhanushali was shot dead in a moving train on January 7 midnight by two sharpshooters. Bhanushali's relatives blamed Chhabil Patel, his son Siddharth, a woman Manisha Goswami and other close associates of Patel for the murder. Hours after the murder, Patel left the country and possibly flew to the United States.

So far, SIT has arrested six persons including suspected shooters identified as Shashikant Kamble and Ashraf Shaikh, both resident of Maharashtra. The woman suspect Manisha Goswami and her associate are still absconding. Goswami had accused Bhanushali of rape who later withdrew her complaint.

On the other hand, Bhanushali's nephew Sunil had lodged an FIR against Goswami for extortion and blackmailing on the basis of a video clip showing him in compromising position with an unidentified woman. These cases were later withdrawn and quashed.

As a matter of fact, both Bhanushali and Patel were accused by different women of rape. The SIT has said that there were various differences between the two politicians while Goswami also had differences with Bhanushali over money, among other things and that's the reason Patel and Goswami along with their close associates decided to eliminate Bhanushali for good.