Mumbai: ‘We told her aunty wasn’t breathing,’ says restaurant staffer

Rimple Jain

One of the staffers at a restaurant in the building, who helped Rimple Jain take her mother Veena to their house after she allegedly fell, has told the police that they had told her "aunty (Veena) wasn't breathing". He has also told the police that the staffers asked Rimple whether she wanted to take Veena to the doctor or a hospital, and asked her to inform her relatives, but she shooed them away. He claimed that she only said, "I will manage."

The Kalachowkie police, who have recorded the statements of six persons who were in touch with Rimple, including the staffer, have revealed this striking detail in the Veena Jain death case. The staffer of the Chinese eatery lives in a room just next to the Jains'. "Early on December 27, we staffers were sleeping when one of our colleagues who had gone out, came and told us the neighbouring aunty had fallen down. He and I and another of our colleagues went to help her. We took her to her home. We found a bruise on her hand," said the worker.

Rimple Jain is taken into police custody on Tuesday night. Pic/Ajinkya Sawant

"But when we took her home, aunty wasn't breathing. We told this to Rimple and asked whether she wanted to take her to a doctor or hospital, and also asked her to inform her relatives, but she refused and shooed us away. She only said I will manage," he added. Rimple, who has allegedly murdered her mother, has said that she panicked. "I panicked as she died due to the fall, but thought relatives would blame me for it, so in haste I decided to dispose of the body," 24-year-old Rimple, said during interrogation.

Also Read: Mumbai: ‘Why I suspected my niece, went to cops,' says Lalbaug murder victim's brother

Suspect questioned

The police are yet to come to conclusion whether the elderly woman died due to an accidental fall or was pushed by Rimple. The Kalachowkie cops have also brought a 27-year-old suspect from UP, and questioned him at length. However, they are yet to establish his role in the case. "The suspect runs a sandwich stall in Lalbaug and was in touch with the accused. He went to his hometown on January 7 and was in touch through phone calls till March 7. It is still premature to comment whether he knew about the death or dismembering of the body. We need to question him at length," said a police source.

Rimple's version

Rimple has maintained in her statements that she didn't kill her mother. "She is stubborn and firm on every word she said since the beginning of the investigation. She maintains she was asleep when her mother fell down early on the morning of December 27, 2022. When she didn't find her at home she went to check on her and claimed she found her fallen on the road," said a police officer.

"Rimple claimed a worker from a Chinese hotel in their building saw her and called his two colleagues to take Veena home. The investigation revealed that after a while Veena passed away. Rimple claimed she panicked as relatives would blame her for the death and decided to hide it from them," the cop said.

The investigation has hit a dead end as it is tough to prove whether the fall was an accident or intentional push by Rimple, as there are no witnesses. "We are waiting for the detailed post mortem report which could throw some light on how she (Veena) actually died. All the investigations and statements have established the death occurred on December 27, we are yet to get more evidence corroborating it and who supplied the cutter and knife to Rimple," said DCP (Zone 4) Dr Pravin Mundhe. The police said they haven't given a clean cheat to the suspect brought for investigation.