11 April,2017 10:30 AM IST | | Samiullah Khan
Charkop police solves the murder from last year wherein a local planned her husband's murder with her sister acting as an accomplice and dumped his body near Ahmednagar
The accused have all confessed to the murder of Prakash Wankhede (Below)
It's a whodunit of epic proportions - with intrigue, gore, meticulous planning and sensational characters. When the Parner police found an unidentified body in a forest area 27 km away from Ahmednagar on April 12 last year, little did they know the way it ended up there, but one year and a tip-off later, they have managed to unspool the murder mystery. Turns out, it was now-identified Prakash Wankhede's wife Asha (56), who had planned her husband's death and roped in her sister Vandana Thorve (40) along with the sister's boyfriend Nilesh Supekar (33) to aide her.
Also read - Mumbai Crime: Woman murders husband; pins the blame on her sons
Missing complaint
According to the Charkop police, Mumbai resident Asha had filed a missing person's complaint on April 27 last year, claiming that she and her husband had gone to Ahmednagar to participate in a function for her younger sister.
While Asha claimed that she had returned on April 12, her husband stayed behind to finish some unfinished work, telling her he would be back within 10-15 days. However, she feigned that she never heard from him again since his phone was switched off all through. The police said that they investigated the case but nothing came of it.
Also read - Mumbai crime: Woman smashes husband's head over financial tiff
Meanwhile, the Parner police also reached a dead end with the unidentified body found in a gunny bag as it led them to Srirampur, but the trail went cold.
What really happened?
Two days ago, the Charkop police received a tip-off from an informant regarding the true nature of the crime and pursuing it, they managed to zero in on Wankhede and her relatives. Said investigating officer, Deepak Phatangre, "The deceased was a SBI officer who had retired and was spending increased time at home. This infuriated Asha as she did not share a good relationship with her husband, who constantly doubted her character and continually fought with her. Even their three children had moved out of the home. Fed up of the bickering, she hatched the plot with her sister and Supekar (a detective). Under the pretext of the function on April 10, she took Prakash to Ahmednagar, where he was served kheer that was spiked with poison."
He added, "They then brutally smashed his head in with a iron rod, stuffed him into a gunny bag and dumped his body in the forest 27 kms out."
After the three were arrested on Monday, DCP Zone 11 Vikram Deshmane said, "All the arrested accused have confessed to the crime. Now, they have been handed over to the Parner police custody who will further investigate the case."
