Navi Mumbai: The Mandwa coastal police in Raigad have discovered the body of an 85-year-old tribal woman from Alibaug taluka, who had been missing since May 31. The body was found approximately 70 feet deep in a gorge at Ambenali ghat near Poladpur. Two suspects have been detained and have confessed to strangling the woman to rob her of her gold ornaments before throwing her body into the valley.
Details of the Crime
Police Inspector Somnath Lande informed that the victim, Sunanda Laxman Patil, resided alone in the Saral tribal hamlet in Alibaug taluka. Her son filed a missing complaint on June 2. During the investigation, it was learned that on May 31 at around 10:30 am, Patil was seen traveling in an autorickshaw with two men. CCTV footage helped identify the autorickshaw's registration number, and the driver was contacted. The driver stated that he had dropped the woman and the two men at Teenvira village, Alibaug taluka, approximately 15 km from Patil's house.
The suspects were identified as Andarsh Hiraji Shedge, 32, who is Patil's cousin maternal nephew, and his friend Ritesh Naresh Lohar, 20, a gardener. They were detained on Thursday morning.
Confession and Recovery
Initially, Shedge claimed that his aunt had come to his house but, feeling unwell, he had sent her back in an autorickshaw. However, CCTV footage near Shedge's house contradicted his statement, showing no autorickshaw. Upon further questioning, Shedge confessed that he and Lohar strangled Patil to steal her gold ornaments and then disposed of her body in the Ambenali ghat gorge.
Lande said, "The accused revealed that on May 31 morning, they picked up Patil from her house in an autorickshaw after persuading her to accompany them to a function in their Teenvira village. She had adorned gold ornaments. Upon reaching Shedge's unoccupied house around 11:30 am, they strangled her and kept her body hidden until evening. Around 5:30 pm, they drove with her body in Shedge's pick-up vehicle for about five hours to reach Ambenali ghat in Poladpur area, where they threw her body into the valley around 10:30 pm. The body got stuck in trees about 70 feet down the gorge; otherwise, it would have fallen more than 100 feet."
Police added that after confessing, the duo led them to the spot. With the help of Pratapgad search and rescue teams from Mahabaleshwar, Patil's body was retrieved from the gorge. The accused were arrested and charged under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for murder, causing disappearance of evidence, criminal conspiracy, kidnapping with intent to murder, and joint criminal liability. They were produced before the Alibaug JMFC court, which remanded them to police custody for four days. The stolen gold ornaments, approximately 7-8 grams worth around Rs one lakh, are yet to be recovered.
