Antop Hill murder: Cops sift through trash to find victim’s head

The spot where the rest of his body was found

The crime branch's hunt for the head of Solapur chilli trader Dada Jagdale, murdered allegedly by a police constable, has reached the Deonar dumping ground.

Last week, Shiv Shankar Gaikwad, the accused, had told police that he had dumped the head in a garbage bin in Mankhurd. The crime branch decided to search through the dump yard, as all the garbage is unloaded there.

Dada Jagdale, the victim

"We started the search operation at the dumping ground on October 19. We have marked the area from where we started the search. A JCB is operating to help with the search," said Indrajit More, in-charge, Unit 4, crime branch.

The Deonar dumping ground sprawls over 130 hectares and receives more than 1,000 metric tonnes of waste every day. Meanwhile, Gaikwad and his wife Monali were on Friday presented in court, which sent them in judicial custody.

Gaikwad had killed Jagdale, as he suspected him of having an affair with his wife. He then chopped up his body, packed the pieces in bags, and dumped them at Sector 7 of Antop Hill. He had tried to burn the bags with sanitiser, but it rained that night. He had dumped the head in Mankhurd. He allegedly committed the crime at his home at the Worli police quarters on September 29.