NEW DELHI, June 8: In yet another incident of killing live-in partner and chopping the body in pieces, the Mumbai police have arrested 56-year old Manoj Sane on the charge of murder of his live-in partner in Mira Road.
The incident was reminiscent of the much talked about Shraddha Walkar murder last year who was strangled to death by her live-in partner Aftab Poonawala and her body chopped in 35 pieces and disposed of in a forest over 18 days. He had also stored some of the body parts in a fridge and charred her face to hide her identity.
The victim in the Mira Road case has been identified as 32-year-old Saraswati Vaidya, who was found in her rented apartment on the seventh floor of a residential building “Akashganga” in Geeta Nagar area of Mira Road late Wednesday evening, according to a senior official at the Naya Nagar police station.
Vaidya was living with Manoj Sane in a live-in relationship for the past three years, the official said. Police were alerted to the gruesome scene by residents of the building, who complained of an unpleasant odour wafting from Vaidya and Sane’s apartment, the official said.
Upon arrival, officers discovered Vaidya’s decomposed body, which had been severed into multiple pieces. “Police have found a body of a woman who had been cut into pieces, from a society in the Mira Road area. Here a couple was living in a live-in relationship. A preliminary investigation revealed that the woman was brutally killed,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) of Mumbai, Jayant Bajbale, said.
Authorities have since arrested Sane over the horrifying incident. The potential motive for the crime is yet to be disclosed by investigators. The investigation is currently ongoing, as officials work to piece together the circumstances leading up to Vaidya’s violent death. The police said Sane has claimed that Vaidya committed suicide.
“The situation is deeply troubling, and we are committed to finding justice for Ms Vaidya,” Bajbale said. “We urge the public to come forward with any information they may have to aid in our investigation.”
The man was caught after a neighbour noticed a foul smell wafting from the couple’s flat and alerted the authorities. The neighbour, Somesh Srivastava said he first went to their home to check the odour. “No one opened the door at the first knock. I heard a sound of spray after which Manoj Sane came out,” he said.
“Manoj Sane told me he was going out for some work. I then alerted the building administration and we immediately informed the police,” he said. Srivastava said when the police broke into their flat they found two cutters, including an electric one. Police also found three buckets in the kitchen in which Manoj had allegedly dumped the woman’s body parts, he said.
They have seized the two cutters and other evidence from the couple’s home for forensic examination. Officials said some body parts were found to be missing and that they suspect the man may have dumped them gradually in different areas of the city.
Sources say the odour at the flat was so strong that cops found it difficult to carry out the search. Srivastava and couple’s another neighbour said the couple did not mingle with the other residents.
The incident, however, created a political row with the Nationalist Congress Party leader Supriya Sule describing the incident as “extremely horrific and outrageous” and alleged that crime against women was on the rise in Maharashtra as criminals have no fear of law. She also said Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who handles the home portfolio, should concentrate on his department seriously. The ruling BJP hit back saying Fadnavis was capable of taking action in the Mira Road case.
In a tweet, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MP Sule said, “Criminals don’t fear the rule of law and hence crime against women is on the rise. State Home Minister Devendra Fadnavis needs to concentrate on his department seriously. The accused should be tried in a fast-track court and hanged to death,” she said in the tweet in which she tagged Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
The state BJP women’s wing chief Chitra Wagh hit out at Ms Sule saying she was shedding crocodile tears. “Fadnavis is capable enough to take action in the Mira Road case. But you did not feel like speaking out when a minor girl at Manchar in Pune district was kidnapped by a Muslim boy, when the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) was in power, and was not found for two-and-a-half years. Had the MVA government intervened, then Shraddha Walkar would not have been cut into pieces,” she said. “Even a chameleon will feel ashamed to see how you change colours,” Ms Wagh alleged.
(Manas Dasgupta)