The husband and another woman had hired contract killers, police said.
A 27-year-old woman and her eight-month-old baby were murdered at Hinjewadi on Saturday night in a suspected incident of robbery. The police have arrested woman’s husband and a woman, with whom he allegedly had an affair and who had hired two contract killers to carry out the murders.
The deceased have been identified as Ashwini Bhondwe and Anuj. The woman’s husband Datta (30), Sonali Jawale (24) and the two attackers, Prashant Bhor and Pawan Jadhav have been arrested.
Around 11.30 pm on Saturday, the police got information that the woman and her child had been murdered by robbers on Nere Jambe Road in Hinjewadi. The two were taken to a hospital where they were declared brought dead. The police found that Ashwini’s husband Datta was also with her when she was attacked.
The police started investigating Datta’s role in the incident and got to know that he reached the hospital, at least three hours after the incident.
The police said that on questioning, Datta confessed to having staged a robbery with the help of Sonali and two others to get rid of Ashwini.
The police said that Datta, Ashwini and the baby left from a relative’s house to go to their own house on Saturday night. They left their elder daughter, Anushka (3), at her grandparents’ house.
On Nere Jambe Road, Datta said he had been feeling uneasy. When he got out of the car they were travelling in, Bhor and Jadhav approached them and then they made Datta drive to a secluded location. There they allegedly strangled Ashwini and Anuj to death.
Deputy Commissioner of Police Ganesh Shinde said: “Datta and Sonali had hired the contract killers to murder Ashwini. The two wanted to get married.”
A police officer said: “Our probe suggests that Sonali works for a school. She and Datta met on Facebook two years ago and had an affair.
The two decided to kill Ashwini as Datta had promised to marry her after getting rid of Ashwini.”