06 October,2017 05:19 PM IST | Mumbai | Santosh Wagh
Had it not been for her five-year-old daughter, this woman from Nashik would've never found out how her three-year-old son died
Had it not been for her five-year-old daughter, this woman from Nashik would've never found out how her three-year-old son died. Staying at the home of Nitin Pathare, 36, in Ghatkopar with her two children, Afsana Amjad Qureshi, 25, found out that not only did he lie to her when he said that her son Ahil just fell unconscious and died, but, in fact, he was the one who choked the toddler and smashed his head on the ground, all for breaking a cup. The Pant Nagar police have arrested Pathare.
Accused Nitin Pathare. Pic/Rajesh Gupta
Also read: Indian footballer's mutilated body found on railway track
Chance meeting
Estranged from her husband and seven months pregnant, Qureshi had left her home in MP in 2014 and come to Nashik, where she gave birth to Ahil and did odd jobs. When she was on her way to Mumbai, she met Pathare in the train.
The two got talking, and Qureshi told him that she'd left home because her husband didn't take proper care of her. Pathare told her that her brother was a lawyer and would help her to get compensation.
Also read: Aarey headless body case: Deceased used to summon the dead
On September 6, he took her to him in Vikhroli. But she left his office dejected when she heard his fees. She told Pathare she would go back to Nashik, but he convinced her to stay with him for a few days.
An officer said, "Pathare told her that he was unmarried and his family lived in a village, that he wanted to sell off the Ghatkopar house, but they had told him he couldn't till he got married. He asked her to pretend to be his wife, but she refused and insisted on going back."
Also read: Mumbai: Dead body pops out of ground, causes panic in Sakinaka
"This angered him and he assaulted her, threatening her to stay back and find a job in the city till he solved his property problem. Scared, she agreed," the officer added.
Truth comes out
On September 27, when she was out, Pathare called her up to tell her about Ahil's death. After she reached home, he told her they should bury him or the police would catch them both. "They went to Haji Malang with the body and buried it there," said an officer.
It was on October 2, when the mother and daughter were alone at home, she told her how Pathare had killed her brother. When Qureshi confronted him about it the next day, he beat up both of them. The neighbours helped her call the police who took the two to Rajawadi hospital.
Officers filed a case against Pathare and arrested him. "He was produced in court, which sent him to police custody till October 9," said senior inspector Praful Phadke.
You may also like to read: Photos: It's complicated! TV stars and their troubled relationships
