Thane | Three persons were arrested for allegedly murdering two water vendors and dumping their bodies in Kasara ghat and Vaitarna river, a police official said on Monday.

The body of one of the victims was found on February 6 after which a probe began, Kasara police station senior inspector KD Kolhe said.

Meanwhile, Palghar police managed to arrest three persons who had fled to Hyderabad after killing a colleague, whose body was found in Vaitarna river on February 3.

"The police cracked the case as the victim's hand had some names tattooed. The victim was identified as Deepak Thoke (25). Further probe led to the arrests of Pentya Chittari (38), Saikumar Kadamaachi (22) and Kishore Shetye (29)," a Mokhada police station official said.

They confessed to killing Thoke as well as vendor whose body they had dumped in Kasara ghat, he said.

It was revealed that the accused and both victims sell mineral water in trains and had a monetary dispute, the official added.

"The man whose body was found in Vaitarna river was killed in the house of a accused in Titwala. The Kasara ghat victim, identified as Rinku Gupta, used to sell water in trains in the Ulhasnagar region. A missing person report was filed in Ulhasnagar police station on February 2," the official added.

A fourth accused identified as Sagar Telang is on the run, the official said.