Antop Hill headless body case: Constable arrested for murdering wife's friend

The suspect cop Shiv Shankar Gaikwad and his wife Monali; (right) the spot at Antop Hill where the trader’s headless body was found

As it probed into the discovery of a man's headless body at Antop Hill, the Crime Branch struggled to make a start initially. It slowly began unravelling the seemingly near-perfect crime with a faint tattoo on the body and blurry footage from one CCTV camera. The task became tougher for the Crime Branch Unit 4 team after one of their own emerged as the main suspect.

The sensational murder - later found to be of a Solapur-based trader - came to light on the morning of September 30. The decapitated body was partially burnt and was found lying inside a housing society, which is a stone's throw away from the office of the assistant police commissioner (Sion division). There are no CCTV cameras around the dimly lit spot.

"We checked the CCTV footage of the roads leading to the spot and saw a vehicle arriving and departing from there," said a Crime Branch officer. "After tracking the vehicle through several cameras, we managed to get its registration number and details. It was a shock to us."

Victim Dada Jagdale, a chill trader, was from Solapur came to the city on the request of Monali

The vehicle belonged to the driver of the ACP from the same division. They then became super secretive with the entire investigation.

The tattoo on the forearm of the victim read ‘Dada' and a surgical plate was found inside his left leg. Inquiries with medical equipment suppliers didn't yield anything.

The suspect's call records showed he had spoken to a person named ‘Dada', a resident of Akluj, Solapur. More revelations came in the form of multiple calls between the victim and the cop's wife. The police arrested the suspect cop and his wife. "Sustained interrogation got us success as he and his wife confessed of the crime," said Inspector Indrajit More, in-charge of Unit 4. Both are in Crime Branch's custody till October 14.

Fallout of marital dispute

The police said suspects Shiv Shankar Gaikwad, 45, and his wife often fought over her alleged relationship with Dada Jagdale, 35, from Solapur. Earlier, Monali had left for Solapur to live with her mother and returned in August after one and a half years. The cop recently found some objectionable chats between Monali and Jagdale. He suddenly became sweet to Monali and persuaded her to invite Jagdale, her childhood friend, to Mumbai.

Jagadale, a chilli trader, reached Dadar on September 29 and was picked by Shiv Shankar. The police said Jagdale's phone got switched off after meeting Shiv Shankar, who was not carrying his phone at the time.

The execution

Cops suspect Shiv Shankar killed Jagdale that day. "The suspect hasn't told us where he killed Jagdale and where he hacked the body into pieces. The head is still missing," said another Crime Branch officer. "He claims to have abandoned the weapon in a garbage box at Worli. The fineness in cutting the body parts indicates the use of a mechanised weapon."

The police suspect Monali helped her husband dispose of the body parts. "Monali was inside the car when Shiv Shankar took out the body to burn with sanitiser," said the officer. He even to went to pick up the ACP and did his duty.

Were children aware?

The cops said the couple's two daughters, aged 13 and 16, had gone to coaching classes when Jagadle was killed. But the police found bloodstains in their home which raised the suspicion that a part of the crime was committed there. Cops didn't disclose any more information about the girls.

Sept 30
Day when the headless body was found at Antop Hill