Woman killed illicit lover to put an end to affair

A woman who was in an extra-marital relationship ended up killing her lover — also married — because he wanted to carry on the affair but she did not want to do so.

The woman, identified as Purity Raniate, strangled the man with her dupatta in a car in Santa Cruz Saturday night.

Police sources said Raniate had confessed to killing Tilakraj Ramchandra Rajput (43) alias Raju, and informed them that he had been harassing her mentally and physically to engage in a physical relationship.

Raniate was produced in the Bandra court on Monday and remanded in police custody till September 3.

The police said Rajput had a laundry business in Santa Cruz. Raniate was a receptionist in a well-known hotel, and five years ago had met and fallen in love with Rajput. Then one year ago, officials said, Raniate met another young man and married him. However, Raniate’s husband lived in Sahar, while she lived alone in Juhu in proximity to her hotel.

On Sunday evening, around 5 pm, Rajput visited Raniate and tried to molest her, the statement she gave reveals.

Later both got into a car and reached the LIC office on SV Road. Rajput was inebriated and was demanding physical gratification from Raniate, she has stated in her confession. However, Raniate resisted, appealing to him that she was married, but Rajput threatened to defame her and inform her husband. Taking advantage of Rajput’s stupor, Raniate then strangulated him with her dupatta in the car and fled.

Santa Cruz police officials were on night patrol, when they found Rajput’s lifeless body in the car. The police rushed him to Cooper Hospital, where the doctors declared him dead. “We registered a murder case and during investigation checked his call records. We realised Raniate was with Rajput at the time of his death. We then arrested her from her house and during interrogation she accepted her crime,” said a senior official from the Santa Cruz police station.