Mumbai Crime: Cop's son meets mysterious end after party at Aarey

Atharva Shinde's body was found at a lake about 300 metres from the villa

The Aarey police are scrambling to solve the mysterious death of a fellow cop's son, whose body was found two days after he went missing from a party inside the Royal Palms Estate. Like every parent's nightmare, it was the cop who found his son's lifeless body and reported the death on Wednesday.

The complainant, Narendra Shinde is an inspector with the Economics Offence Wing of Mumbai Police. His son, Atharva Shinde, 20, had gone to a birthday party on May 7, along with a female friend. She is currently in hospital, being treated for intoxication, said sources. The party was held at villa no. 212, which had been rented for the night.

Atharva Shinde

Started with a brawl
Police sources said the party was attended by around 20 people, but the deceased only knew two of them - his friend and the birthday girl. When the revellers started dancing, a scuffle broke out between him and some of the other youths. In the brawl, Atharva's phone also broke. Eventually, he fled from the villa, jumped over the gate and ran towards an artificial lake situated 300 metres from the house. The next morning, when he did not return home, Atharva's father called his friends and found out about the fight. He went to Royal Palms looking for his son, only to stumble upon his body at the lake.

According to police sources, a resident of another villa had seen the youth at the lake on Tuesday, but did not report it to the police. "Had the resident called us then, the boy could have been saved," said an officer from the Aarey police.

Copspeak
DCP (zone XII) Vinay Kumar Rathod said, "The post-mortem is done, but the cause of death is unclear. We have sent the viscera for forensic examination. There were bruises on the deceased's face and chest. We have registered an FIR under Section 302 (murder) of the IPC." The police are questioning other guests from the party, and are waiting for Atharva's friend to recover, so they can record her statement as well. Enquiries are on with the villa owner as well, and cops are also checking the local CCTV footage.

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