The Dutch mystery: The Hague police too vague, say Mumbai cops

Avdhut Shinde; Sharmila Shinde was found dead in the Netherlands

It's been close to two months that Sharmila Shinde's body was recovered from her rented accommodation in The Hague, but the Mumbai police are yet to trace her husband, Avdhut Shinde, the prime suspect in the case. Though the Dutch police have put him on the international search list, they have made an administrative request via the International Criminal Police Organization - INTERPOL, which appears to be extremely ambiguous. It mentions that the Mumbai police should only trace Avdhut and not arrest him. But, cops here are asking if Avdhut cannot be detained, what would they do with him after tracing him.

Two top officers of the Mumbai police told mid-day, "The administrative request from the Dutch police via INTERPOL is very ambiguous. We have been asked to trace Avdhut but what will we do after that? We cannot even detain a person if no case has been registered against him." They also said that this was the reason why Avdhut was roaming scot-free and making temple runs across the state.

However, sources at INTERPOL told mid-day that Indian authorities contacted the Consulate General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Mumbai last week regarding the same matter. When mid-day contacted the latter's office, an official said, "We are not involved in this matter, so we will not be able to comment."
However, Dutch police sources told mid-day that a case of manslaughter had been registered. When asked whether the case had been registered against Avdhut, a Dutch officer said, "It is against any suspect but as Avdhut is the main suspect, he has been put on the international search list. We are investigating manslaughter charges in Holland."

The officer added, "Sharmila was last seen along with her husband and children around 11.50 am on May 16 at The Hague Centre, near her rented house." The Dutch police have not revealed any details regarding Sharmila's autopsy report, about which the officer added, "Her post-mortem report and details regarding the condition in which her body was found will be revealed only after the perpetrator is found. We are not revealing these details as we need to interrogate the person involved in the crime."

Also Read: The Dutch mystery: Sharmila's decomposed body was 'found in refrigerator'

"The forensic team has scanned computers at rented flat and spoken to neighbours. After her body was recovered from the refrigerator, the forensic team investigated the apartment twice. It has been sealed now," the officer said. "We were recently told by the INTERPOL that the Indian authorities got in touch with our embassy in Mumbai. We are waiting a response from the Indian side."

May 16
Day Sharmila was last seen with her husband and children at The Hague Centre

Also Read: The Dutch mystery: Did missing man's wife get him to sign restraining affidavit?

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