The Dutch mystery: Saw injury marks on her, says woman's kin

Sharmila and Avdhut Shinde with their children

The brother of Sharmila Shinde, whose body reached Mumbai from The Netherlands on Sunday, has said that the Dutch police told them that she was murdered and her body had been found in a highly decomposed condition inside their flat. Sharmila's sister-in-law told mid-day that there were a few injury marks on her body.

Avdhut Shinde, who went underground after reaching Mumbai, is a senior executive with a well-known shipping company. The Shindes and their two children had moved to The Netherlands from Pune, where they spent eight years.

Sharmila's brother Shashidhar Shetty told mid-day, "The embassy officials told me they do not reveal the exact cause of death in the post-mortem report. Only cardiac arrest is mentioned even if the person died of a gunshot wound or stabbing or anything else. But, the Dutch police told me that it was not an accidental death and she had been killed. The rules and regulations in The Netherlands are very strict."

Shetty's wife Harini told mid-day, "We do not know the reason for her death. But, there were a few injury marks on her body."

Also read: Mumbai: Dindoshi police hunt for man who fled after wife's mysterious death

An officer at Dindoshi police station said, "The post mortem report reveals that she died of cardiac arrest." The police are, however, tightlipped about Shetty's murder claim.

Sharmila's sister-in-law Harini Shetty

Shetty said, "Sharmila's body was decomposed; only her face was presentable. I don't know if there was any injury mark on her body because I only saw her face. It was a love marriage and they were happily together. We never heard of any complaints from my sister. God knows what happened there in The Netherlands."

When the Shetty family got to know about Sharmila's death, they reached Dindoshi police station and enquired about Avdhut's whereabouts. "The cops are looking for him. We don't know where is he hiding," Shetty said.

Sharmila's mother Shushila's health deteriorated and she was not in a condition to speak to mid-day when approached at her house in Bhandup. Sharmila's father passed away 15 years ago.
The Shinde family sent R5.50lakh through RTGS to the agency that sent Sharmila's body to Mumbai after embalming it. Her funeral was conducted at Vikhroli on Sunday.

"Her in-laws and children had come for the funeral. It was a sad state of affairs as the children were crying a lot," said Harini.

Till now, the Shetty family has not registered any complaint against Avdhut.

Meanwhile, sources at Dindoshi police station told mid-day that Avdhut is hiding somewhere in Maharashtra. "He has been making calls to his parents using different numbers. Initially, he was in Ratnagiri and later moved to Nashik," said the source at the police station.

The cops are finding it tough to locate Avdhut's whereabouts as he is not carrying his mobile phone with him. However, the Dindoshi police have issued alerts across Maharashtra along with his photograph and name.

Avdhut has not contacted his wife's family since his wife's death in the Netherlands. He has only been contacting his parents. "Sharmila's mother loved Avdhut more than her own daughter. He reached Mumbai and went underground. The condition of my mother-in-law is terrible," said Harini.

Inputs by Samiullah Khan

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