Mumbai: Case of headless body solved; wife, lover held - Times of India
Mumbai: Case of headless body solved; wife, lover held
KALYAN/MUMBAI: Using a face recreated by forensic experts to help identify a man whose decapitated body was found in April, the Ambernath police finally solved the case with the arrest of his wife, her lover and a friend. On April 10, the decomposed headless body was found in the hillside area in Javsai village. The head was found 500m away.
The police said that the killers had used a sharp weapon to remove the skin on the man’s face to hide his identity. After checking missing person’s complaints at all police stations for six months and no results, assistant commissioner of police (Amberanth zone) Sunil Patil decided to take the help of doctors from KEM Hospital. In October, he approached Dr Harish Pathak, head of KEM forensic medicine and toxicology department.
After working painstakingly for four weeks, forensic odontologist Dr Hemlata Pandey sculpted a face of the murder victim using plaster of Paris. "A replica of the victim’s skull was created, and the facial reconstruction was carried out on that. We didn’t use the victim’s skull as that was the only evidence available to police. That way the family may also claim his remains to carry out his final rites," said Dr Pandey.
"After the doctors recreated a face, we circulated its photograph to police stations and among informers," said Sunil Patil, assistant commissioner of police, Ambernath zone. "An informer tipped us off that it looked like Ambernath resident Bindresh Prajapati (33), who was missing since months." Bindresh lived with his wife Savitri (30) in Sion-Koliwada area. Once or twice a week, he would stay at his Ambernath home, where he was employed as a driver.
The police reached Bindresh’s residence and questioned Savitri, who gave evasive replies. They then questioned Bindresh’s four brothers who admitted that they had not seen him for months. When asked why they had not lodged a missing person’s complaint, the brothers said they were reluctant to approach the police as Savitri had told them that Bindresh was on the run after killing his employer following a tiff. The brothers later identified the decapitated body as that of Bindresh’s.Patil said they questioned Savitri again and this time, she broke down and admitted to killing her husband with the help of her boyfriend Kishan Kanojia and his friend Rajesh Yadav. Thane zonal DCP Pramod Kumar Shevale said, "Savitri was having an extra-marital affair with Kanojia and when Bindresh learnt about it, they had a fight. She then decided to bump him off." Kanojia and Yadav were arrested from Sion-Koliwada.
The police said when Bindresh’s brothers would ask about his whereabouts, Savitri initially told them that he was at the Ambernath house, later she said he had taken up a job in Bengaluru. One one occasion, when Bindresh’s mother said she wanted to speak with him, Savitri called up Kanojia and he spoke to Bindresh’s mother pretending to be her son. When the mother said the person on the other line was not her son, Savitri insisted it was Bindresh. When she realized that the family would not stop asking about Bindresh, she cooked up the story that he was on the run.
The police said that the killers had used a sharp weapon to remove the skin on the man’s face to hide his identity. After checking missing person’s complaints at all police stations for six months and no results, assistant commissioner of police (Amberanth zone) Sunil Patil decided to take the help of doctors from KEM Hospital. In October, he approached Dr Harish Pathak, head of KEM forensic medicine and toxicology department.
"After the doctors recreated a face, we circulated its photograph to police stations and among informers," said Sunil Patil, assistant commissioner of police, Ambernath zone. "An informer tipped us off that it looked like Ambernath resident Bindresh Prajapati (33), who was missing since months." Bindresh lived with his wife Savitri (30) in Sion-Koliwada area. Once or twice a week, he would stay at his Ambernath home, where he was employed as a driver.
The police reached Bindresh’s residence and questioned Savitri, who gave evasive replies. They then questioned Bindresh’s four brothers who admitted that they had not seen him for months. When asked why they had not lodged a missing person’s complaint, the brothers said they were reluctant to approach the police as Savitri had told them that Bindresh was on the run after killing his employer following a tiff. The brothers later identified the decapitated body as that of Bindresh’s.
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Salute to bravery of police personnel and his relentless efforts to go to the depth of this case. Secondly, the doctors who helped crack this case with their knowledge and technology. Bravo......now ... Read MoreSalute to bravery of police personnel and his relentless efforts to go to the depth of this case. Secondly, the doctors who helped crack this case with their knowledge and technology. Bravo......now send all 3 of them behind bar for lifetime.Sanjay SawantThe police said when Bindresh’s brothers would ask about his whereabouts, Savitri initially told them that he was at the Ambernath house, later she said he had taken up a job in Bengaluru. One one occasion, when Bindresh’s mother said she wanted to speak with him, Savitri called up Kanojia and he spoke to Bindresh’s mother pretending to be her son. When the mother said the person on the other line was not her son, Savitri insisted it was Bindresh. When she realized that the family would not stop asking about Bindresh, she cooked up the story that he was on the run.
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