Tattoos help cops identify body, arrest murderers

PUNE: The tattoos ‘Om’ and ‘Aai’ on the right hand of a body found in Pavana river at Gahunje village on April 15 helped the Talegaon Dabhade police ascertain the identity of the deceased and arrest three persons on Tuesday for bludgeoning the man to death.
The deceased, Mangesh Anant Bhagwat (38) of Somatane in Maval taluka, about 30km from the city, was a criminal on the police records. Eight cases of robberies and other crimes were registered against him.
Shrikant Murhe (35) of Somatane murdered Bhagwat with his friends as the latter was harassing him. Bhagwat had also threatened to kill Murhe and his family members. Murhe’s aides were Swapnil Kale (23) and Pravin Shedge (26), also from Somatane.
Assistant inspector Pramod Kshirsagar of the Talegaon Dabhade police said, “Bhagwat’s relatives did not approach police after he went missing on April 10 because they were also fed up with him.”
The Talegaon Dabhade police were alerted about the body floating in the Pavana river at Gahunje village on April 15. Inspector Nayaran Pawar and Kshirsagar retrieved it with the help of some people.
The body was highly decomposed and beyond recognition. “The legs were tied with a wire. We could only notice tattoos ‘Om’ and ‘Aai’ on its right hand,” Kshirsagar said.
He said the Talegaon Dabhade police checked with the Pimpri Chinchwad and the Pune police, but there were no missing persons complaints. “During the probe, we got the information that a criminal on the police records from Somatane had ‘Om’ and ‘Aai’ tattoos on his hand. When we went to his house, we found that he did not return home since April 10,” Kshirsagar said.
Bhagwat’s parents and wife later identified the body. “Bhagwat’s wife had lodged a complaint of harassment against him on April 10. She told us about the dispute between Murhe and her husband on April 10. We carried out searches near Bhagwat’s house and found his shirt in a farm,” he said.
The police then took Murhe into custody. During the questioning, Murhe admitted to his involvement in the murder of Bhagwat and revealed the names of his two friends.
Murhe, having cattle shed in Somatane, told the police that Bhagwat was harassing him and his family members. He also harassed women and other people in the village.
“Few days before the murder, Murhe and Bhagwat had a brawl. Bhagwat had threatened Murhe with dire consequences. Murhe then murdered Bhagwat with the help of his aides and dumped the body into the river after tying the legs with a wire,” Kshirsagar said.
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