Umesh Vaishya went missing last Tuesday. A 45-year-old vegetable vendor from Khar who had gone missing since last Tuesday was found dead in a drain at Uran in Navi Mumbai, 54 km from his residence, on Saturday. The family members of Umesh Vaishya carried out his last rites on Sunday and are awaiting his medical reports to find out the cause of his death. The police said the postmortem report has not revealed any injuries.
The family suspects he has been murdered and are waiting for the police to inform them about the matter.
Anita Bahaduti, Vaishya’s sister-in-law, whose husband is also a vegetable vendor, said the deceased usually left for Vashi or Dadar to purchase vegetables in wholesale late in the night. Early morning his wife would sell the vegetables at Khar market.
“He left his Khar residence at 2 am on Tuesday as usual. When his wife called him at 9.30 am, he did not answer the phone,” Bahaduti said.
When he did not respond through the day and did not return home, his family approached the Nirmal Nagar police station, where a missing persons complaint was taken the next day.
“As we were looking for him, we received a call from the Uran police about a man whose body had been found by a fisherman. The photo of the deceased matched with Vaishya,” said Shashikant Bhandare, senior inspector, Nirmal Nagar police station.
The family was then informed about the incident and the body was handed over to them. “The last rites were carried out on Sunday and so many people had turned up to see him,” Bahaduti said.
She added, “We are waiting for the postmortem report, however, we do not believe it was suicide. After waiting 18 years for a kid, his wife was pregnant but had a miscarriage last month. He would not do this to his wife.”
The Mora Sagari police station in Uran, where the body was found, has taken an Accidental Death Report in the matter. DCP (zone II) Shivraj Patil said, “The postmortem report has not found any injuries. The viscera has still been preserved and sent for forensic testing.”
He added, “Our probe has found that he did reach APMC market that night. The family has not given any complaint. We will still record their detailed statement tomorrow (Monday).”