Mumbai, Nov 16 (IANS): In a Diwali chiller, a man from Lakhani hatched a conspiracy to finish off his younger sibling who was addicted to alcohol and used to abuse and assault their aged mother regularly, the police said here.

The shocking incident occurred late on Monday when Rahul R. Bhoyar (35), along with his friends Bhupendra Nyaymurti (27) and Kartik Mandhare (24), stabbed Akash R. Bhoyar (31) multiple times on a desolate road.

According to officials of the Lakhani police station, Akash was known to be an alcoholic who regularly came home drunk and abused his family members, particularly his aged and ailing mother, who also suffered beating at his hands.

Akash turned a deaf ear to the repeated pleas by the family members, including Rahul, to discard his bad habits, reform himself and help keep the clan united.

Fed up of Akash’s wayward behaviour, Rahul, Bhupendra and Kartik plotted to bump him off in the midst of Diwali festivities.

That night, as the heavily inebriated Akash was returning home, they forced him to accompany them to an isolated spot on the outskirts of the town, whipped out knives and repeatedly stabbed him under the cover of darkness.

As he lay in a pool of blood, they dragged his body at least 20 metres in the bushes before decamping from the scene.

Early on Tuesday morning, the police got a tip-off about the murder and rushed to investigate, along with a dog squad, and recovered Akash’s body with at least three-dozen stab wounds.

Senior officials like Superintendent of Police Lohit Matani and Deputy SP Ishwar Katkade rushed to the spot, and the probe finally pointed the needle of suspicion at Akash’s elder brother, Rahul.

He was detained on Tuesday and after sustained interrogation, finally confessed to the crime he had committed along with his friends Bhupendra and Kartik.

The accused trio was arrested and produced before the Magistrate's Court which remanded them to police custody till Friday.