Mumbai: A week after the headless body of a woman was found in a nullah, Rabale police has arrested her husband and in-laws for allegedly murdering her as they no longer wanted her as wife and daughter-in-law, respectively.
As the woman’s hands had been chopped off as well, the police had a hard time ascertaining her identity as usually, it depends on rings or threads tied to the wrist and hands. CCTV footage of buildings in the vicinity did not help either. Then one of the police officers located a tattoo on her shoulder. “We immediately circulated a pamphlet stating her age, dress, and the tattoo of Lord Ganesh on her shoulder. That’s when her elder brother who had been trying to contact her since three days came to the police station. He recognised the tattoo and helped us establish her identity as Priyanka Bhamre alias Gurav,” said a police officer.
He added, “Her brother had been suspicious of her in-laws’ behaviour and told us he suspected they had something to do with her disappearance. We called her in-laws to the police station for interrogation, during which, they narrated a different story. They said Priyanka went for a job interview last Friday and never returned. We took her husband into custody after which, he confessed to the crime.”
The accused have been identified as Siddhesh Gurav, the deceased’s husband; Manohar Gurav (49), her father-in-law; Madhuri Gurav (45), her mother-in-law; and Durgesh Patwa.
A police officer said, “Siddhesh had been in a relationship with Priyanka for nearly two years and initially, refused to get married to her despite her insistence. Later when she said she would complain to the police if he did not tie the knot, he and his parents decided to hold the marriage ceremony without inviting anyone else in the society. They planned to kill her soon after. Accordingly, on the fifth day after the wedding, Siddhesh allegedly strangled Priyanka to death. Later, Manohar’s friend, Durgesh, came to their house, cut her body into four pieces and threw them at different places in Navi Mumbai.”
DCP Prashant Khaire said, “Our officials arrested the accused and produced them in court. Durgesh gave us two different addresses where they threw Priyanka’s body parts. We are investigating if Durgesh has committed other crimes.”
