AHMEDABAD: Three men suffered injuries when a parcel delivered to the house of a Gujarat high court lawyer’s clerk in the Sabarmati area on Saturday morning exploded at the time of delivery. Police said a personal dispute is the reason behind the blast at the house of Baldev Sukhadia in the Shivam Row House Society on the IOC Road. He worked with Hetal Barot, the wife of the prime suspect, Rupen Barot, also a resident of Sabarmati.
Additional commissioner of police, Sector-1, Neeraj Badgujar, said Gaurav Gadhavi, the person who delivered the parcel, was also injured in the blast and was arrested. “As Gadhavi wanted to hand over the parcel to Sukhadia, the receiver noticed smoke coming out of the packet. Soon, the parcel exploded, leaving Gadhavi, Sukhadia and his cousin, Kirit Sukhadia, with injuries,” Badgujar said.
DCP, Zone-2, Bharat Rathod, said that the incident took place between 10.30am and 10.45am on Saturday. “Gadhavi said that his friend Rohan told him to deliver the parcel that he had received from Rupen Barot,” said Rathod.
In his complaint with Sabarmati police, Baldev Sukhadia, 56, said that a man last night came to his house to deliver a parcel, but as Sukhadia was not present, the delivery boy returned.
“My wife informed me about this, and today, around 10:45am, a delivery boy came to my house and told me he had a parcel for me. Since I hadn’t ordered anything, I was suspicious and didn’t accept the parcel. The delivery boy said that someone named Suresh had sent the parcel, but as I didn’t know any Suresh, I asked for his and Suresh’s phone numbers so I could verify. He said his phone was with someone in a rickshaw outside. While we were talking, smoke started coming out of the bag,” said Baldev Sukhadia in the FIR.
Sukhadia told him to step back and talk, and at that moment, the bag exploded. “That blast blinded both me and my wife temporarily. After a while, I saw the man still standing there, and I caught him. He was injured in the hands due to the blast, and my cousin, Kirit, who was outside his house, also suffered injuries on his face. I received a minor injury on my left leg,” said Baldev Sukhadia.
People soon gathered on the spot. “Pieces of the bag, white clay fragments, razor blade pieces, cardboard pieces, and wires from a blue battery were found at the place,” said a police official.
Sukhadia further said in the FIR, “I have been working for Hetal, an advocate at the Gujarat high court, for six years. Hetal married Rupen Barot, who lives in Godavari Apartments in D-Cabin, about 12 years ago. Rupen suspects an extramarital relationship between Hetal and me, leading to frequent arguments with her and threats to me over the phone.”
