MUMBAI: A lady cop and her lover, working in the Vasai police station have been arrested for allegedly killing her husband. The three contract killers have also been nabbed.
In the wee hours of February 17, Manor police were informed about an auto-rickshaw that had turned turtle on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad national highway near Dhekale village. The unidentified driver was found dead with severe head injuries.
An accidental death case was registered. The autopsy later revealed that the victim had died after being hit on the head by a sharp object.
The body was identified as that of Pundalik Patil (35), a resident of Vasai. His wife Snehal (25), is a constable attached to the traffic wing of the Vasai police.
Investigations revealed that Pundalik had frequent fights with Snehal over her alleged relationship with a constable Vikas Pashte (30), attached to the Vasai police station. The couple has a three-year-old child.
Police said that Pashte, who is married and has a child, and Snehal were in a relationship since 2014. Pashte used to visit Snehal at her home after Pundalik left for work. They were open about their relationship even in the police station. Pundalik used to visit the police station to give tiffin to his wife and had learnt about the affair.
According to the police, Snehal had given Rs 2.5 lakh to Pashte to eliminate her husband. Pashte hired three men, identified as Swapnil Govari, an outsourcing agent, Avinash Bhoir, an electrician and Vishal Patil, a security guard, to eliminate Pundalik. They were known to Pashte.
Police said that Govari, Bhoir and Vishal hired Pundalik’s auto on February 17 for Manor. When they reached Dhekale village, they asked Pundalik to halt the vehicle on the pretext of answering nature’s call. The men alighted while Pundalik stayed put on the driver’s seat. The men stepped out and assaulted Pundalik with an iron rod. He died on the spot.
The men tried to place Pundalik’s body on the highway to make it look like a case of run-over. However, as they could not pick up Pundalik’s heavy body, they left him in the auto, turned it turtle and fled. The auto was noticed by some motorists who informed the police.
Police said that the men had hired Pundalik’s auto two times earlier, before the actual murder. Pundalik’s cellphone showed four calls from unknown numbers. The owners when tracked revealed that the calls were made by Pashte.
He had called Pundalik on four occasions from unknown numbers and had convinced him to travel to Manor. He had paid Rs 1,000 for each trip.
All the accused were remanded to police custody on Wednesday. The iron rod used to kill the victim has not been found.