PALGHAR, June 9 -- Nearly six months after the abduction and murder of Shiv Sena functionary Ashok Dhodi, the Palghar police have arrested the prime accused-his brother-from Silvassa in the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli. The accused, Avinash Raman Dhodi, 60, had been absconding since January and was traced to the Morkhal area of Silvassa. Acting on a tip-off, a police team apprehended him at 3:25 am on Sunday. He is currently in the custody of Gholvad police, under whose jurisdiction the original kidnapping complaint had been filed. Ashok Dhodi, 52, was a prominent Sena leader from Dahanu, where he served as the party's constituency in-charge and also headed the local unit of the Mathadi Sena. On January 19, he travelled to Mumbai for work. While returning to his home in Vevji village in Talasari taluka, he called his family from Gholvad, informing them he would be home for dinner. He never arrived. Worried, his family filed a missing person complaint the same night at Gholvad police station. The next day, fragments of a car window, his slippers, and broken spectacles were found near Dongripada in Dahanu taluka, raising suspicions of foul play. Twelve days later, on January 31, Dhodi's decomposed body was found inside his car at the bottom of a water-filled stone quarry in Sarigam Wadiapada, across the state border in Gujarat's Valsad district. Investigations revealed a family dispute as the alleged motive. According to Palghar SP Yatish Deshmukh, the accused Avinash Dhodi was allegedly furious after Ashok submitted an application to the Vevji Gram Panchayat seeking cancellation of the lease on Avinash's house, which reportedly led to his eviction. Police say Avinash, along with accomplices, intercepted Ashok's vehicle at Vevji Ghat, abducted him, and later murdered him before dumping the body and the car in the quarry. Avinash has a criminal record, with past cases registered against him in 2016 and 2018. The ongoing probe into Ashok's murder had already led to the arrest of six of the nine accused, while three others-identified as Manoj Bhavarsingh Rajput, Ashish Ramubhai Dhodi, and Sunil Dhodi-remain absconding. The court of the First Class Judicial Magistrate in Dahanu had issued criminal arrest warrants against them on May 29. The investigation also prompted a departmental inquiry, following which a police officer was suspended and show-cause notices were issued to eight others over alleged lapses. The case is being pursued under multiple sections of the BNS, including those related to kidnapping, murder, and criminal intimidation....