Mumbai: Mortal remains of API Ashwini Bidre-Gore not retrieved, search operation called off!

Bhayandar: More than 22 months after Assistant Police Inspector Ashwini Bidre-Gore, went missing, an investigating team from the Crime Branch unit of the Navi Mumbai police on Monday initiated a full-fledged search operation with personnel from the Indian Navy taking the lead to trace the mortal remains mortal remains of the lady cop. This after a horrifying confession that Bidre was murdered and butchered before her body pieces were stuffed into iron boxes and dumped into the Vasai creek.

However, after five hours of extensive efforts the unsuccessful search operation had to be called off at dusk. Armed with equipment’s including underwater camera’s, a team of nine expert naval divers sailed into the creek waters in three speed boats at around 1:30 pm. A technical support staff of 4o police and navy personnel provided back-up to the naval divers.

Also Read: API Ashwini Bidre murder case: Police arrest PI Abhay Kurundkar, accomplices who killed her

In the initial stage, the naval divers had apparently narrowed down their search to the vicinity of the disposal spot that had been pin-pointed by one of the accused, Mahesh Manohar Falnikar, who had allegedly thrown the boxes into the creek from the railway over bridge between Bhayandar and Naigaon stations on the behest of the prime accused Senior Police Inspector Abhay Kurundkar.

Apart from childhood friends Kurundkar and Falnikar, two others Kundan Bhandari and Rajesh Patil have also been arrested.