Six held in Vadodara murder plot as man survives alleged conspiracy by wife and her partner

A suspected murder conspiracy has been uncovered in Vadodara after a man narrowly survived an alleged attempt on his life, with police arresting six people, including his wife, in connection with the case, as per reports.

The incident reportedly took place in the Chhani area on April 15, when Girish Patel, a paan shop owner, was reportedly abducted while returning home. As per police, he was forced into a car on the Chhani–Sokhda Road by a group of men, reportedly threatened with a knife and driven across several locations before being thrown into a canal near Sojitra.

Believing him to be dead, the assailants fled. However, Patel reportedly managed to cling to a structure inside the canal and, after struggling for nearly three hours, emerged alive the following morning.

As per reports, police initially detained five suspects, but further investigation revealed a wider conspiracy allegedly involving Patel’s wife, Falguni Patel. Investigators said she was in a relationship with Kaushik Sharma, and the two allegedly conspired to eliminate Patel, whom they considered an obstacle.

Sharma reportedly hired a contract killer, identified as Narendra alias Nikul Goswami, for ₹35,000 to carry out the attack. Call detail records reportedly showed frequent communication between Falguni and Sharma, with over 100 calls exchanged in the two days leading up to the incident. Another accused, Rudra Rawal, is believed to have conducted surveillance.

During the abduction, the attackers also allegedly robbed Patel of his ATM card and cash, though the card was not used, reportedly to avoid detection through CCTV footage.

Based on technical evidence and interrogation, police arrested Sharma along with Jitendra Baria, Umang Prajapati, Umang Bhoi and Prithvi Bhoi, all linked to Kheda. Falguni Patel was later identified as the alleged mastermind and taken into custody.

All six accused have been remanded to judicial custody as further investigations continue.