Navi Mumbai: After two months of meticulous investigation into the murder of an unidentified woman, whose charred body was discovered in the Rajmati forest area near Chinchavli and Wakdi villages along the Panvel-Dundre village road in Panvel taluka, local police have identified the victim using technical expertise and arrested the accused, who was in a love relationship with her.
Victim and Accused Identified
The victim was identified as Anitadevi Bhagwan Rajbhar (30), a resident of Phadkepada, Mumbra-Diva Road, Thane district. Her identity was confirmed after her description matched a missing person complaint filed at Shil-Daighar Police Station in Thane district, where the complainant mentioned the imitation jewellery found on the victim. The arrested accused is Karan Namdev Patil (27), a brick supplier from Phadkepada, Shilphata, Thane district. He confessed to having a love relationship with Rajbhar. As she insisted on marriage, he was reluctant because she had three children from her estranged husband, and he was unmarried and could not financially support her and her children. He was arrested on Monday, June 8, and the Panvel court remanded him to police custody until June 12.
Discovery of the Body
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone-3) Rashmi Nandedkar informed that on April 11 around 5:30 pm, Chinchavli villager Mahadu Patil (56), the Police Patil (village-level administrator), was alerted by his uncle Posha Patil about a burnt body lying in the bushes in Rajmati forest area, about 400 meters from his hamlet. The Police Patil then alerted Panvel taluka police, who confirmed the body was of a woman due to her long hair and imitation jewellery. An FIR was registered against an unidentified accused for murder and causing disappearance of evidence.
Investigation Details
Senior Inspector Gajanan Ghadge of Panvel taluka police said, "Multiple teams of five police officers and 10 constables were formed by zonal DCP Rashmi Nandedkar to solve the case. Since the body was completely burnt with no identifying evidence, we sent details of the imitation ornaments she was wearing on POLNET 2.0, a pan-India satellite-based digital IP network used by police and government agencies, to match missing women with the victim. A total of 920 missing complaints across Maharashtra and 197 across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region were scrutinized. Police teams also checked CCTV cameras in surrounding villages but found no useful information. During the probe, Police Constable Sunil Kudale found that the finger ring, nose and ear ornaments, and a wrist thread on the victim matched those of Anitadevi Bhagwan Rajbhar, whose missing complaint was filed by her brother at Shil-Daighar police station on April 8. As the body was charred, the complainant identified her from the ornaments."
Arrest and Confession
Ghadge added, "After gathering technical evidence over a month, it was found that Rajbhar was in constant contact with suspect Karan Patil for several months, even days before her body was found. When called for inquiry, he did not appear and switched off his mobile, raising suspicion. Last week, he was apprehended near his residence." Ghadge said, "On April 6, Patil took Rajbhar in his car from Thane and fatally assaulted her on the head with an iron rod. He drove to the isolated Rajmati forest area in Panvel taluka at night, dumped her body in the bushes, removed petrol from his car, poured it on her, and set her ablaze to destroy evidence."
