MUMBAI: A 37-year-old carpenter who alerted a family about the murder of the director of a co-operative credit society in Palghar was arrested. The victim had accused him of robbing cash from the society and had threatened to file a police case.
Vinod Trivedi assaulted Sadhana Chowdhary (57), director of Shri Ashtavinayak cooperative credit society with a hammer on Saturday. Vinod’s brother runs English-speaking classes on the society premises. He would visit Chowdhary for a cup of tea every evening.
On Saturday, when Chowdhary did not return to her Satpati home till late, her family phoned Vinod. He pretended to have gone to the second floor office of Om Shanti Deva Apartment and informed the family and police about the murder.
Police said for few months Vinod had stolen over Rs80,000 from Chowdhary’s cabin. Chowdhary, who handled the loan recovery department, had found cash missing. She had questioned staff, who pleaded ignorance.
Police said Chowdhary would count the money and update account books while having tea with Vinod. Police said when Chowdhary would go to the washroom he would pull out some notes. Vinod told police that Chowdhary recently questioned him about the missing cash. Fearing that Chowdhary would file a case against him, he decided to kill her on Saturday.
Vinod was closely monitoring the investigation. When the autopsy confirmed the death was caused by metal, they questioned Vinod. He confessed to killing her with a hammer. The murder weapon has been seized.
Vinod returned to his brother’s institute after the murder. He did not rob the Rs50,000 in the drawer, nor did he tamper with her cellphone, police said. He was booked for murder and remanded to police custody for a week.